


All for love

by Nival_Vixen



Category: High School Musical (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bisexual Male Character, Bisexuality, Drunk Sex, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Established Relationship, F/M, Foot Massage, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Sexual Confusion, Smut, Threesome - F/M/M, Triggers, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-01
Updated: 2017-07-06
Packaged: 2018-01-14 04:19:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 33,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1252543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nival_Vixen/pseuds/Nival_Vixen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ryan and Sharpay went to a private school, while the others went to East High. Three years after graduation, Kelsi and Ryan are dating at Julliard, and in Boston, Chad's destructive relationship with Taylor has finally ended. Chad goes to New York and after getting drunk, he calls Kelsi, the only friend he has left.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan reveals that he's bisexual to Kelsi, his girlfriend. Across the country, Taylor is dumping Chad for the sixth and final time.

"I'm bi-sexual."

 

Kelsi looked at her boyfriend, stunned at what he'd just told her. When Ryan had asked her to sit down and that he had something important to tell her, Kelsi had been wary, but she hadn't thought that his revelation would be something like this.

 

"Kels? Say something, please," Ryan said softly, his hand reaching out to hold hers.

 

She stared at their joined hands, opening her mouth a few times, failing to put her feelings into words. Kelsi knew that if she sat at a piano right now, she wouldn't even remember how to perform a C chord.

 

"I know it's a lot to take in, Kels. I swear I didn't want to hurt you by telling you this, and I'm not going to leave unless you want me to. It doesn't change anything between us," Ryan promised, hoping he sounded as genuine as he felt.

 

"You just told me that you're bi, Ryan, of course it changes things between us," Kelsi muttered.

 

"How?" he countered. "It's not like I'm going out night after night looking for a guy to bring home. I just wanted to let you know that I'm sexually attracted to both men and women. I'm not going to cheat on you; I just didn't want this to come up later and make you upset."

 

Ryan looked so earnest and worried, as if she would throw him out of the apartment or something, and she couldn't hold back the smile threatening to form at the very idea of that.

 

"Remind me again why I love you?" Kelsi asked with a sigh, squeezing his hand.

 

"Because I'm talented, I understand your passion for music, and I have a killer smile that you just can't resist," Ryan said, smiling broadly.

 

"Hmm, you're right," she murmured, moving forward to kiss him gently. "Just promise me that you'll tell me if you're so attracted to a guy that you can't resist _him_ , okay?"

 

"I doubt that'll happen, Kels. But thanks for being so understanding. I love you, and I didn't want to keep it a secret any longer," Ryan said quietly.

 

Kelsi nodded briefly, pulling her boyfriend into a tight hug. "I'm glad that you told me, Ryan, it's part of who you are, and I love all of you, not just the part that has sex with me."

 

Ryan laughed in a mix of amusement and surprise, returning her hug warmly, and so utterly grateful that she hadn't thrown him out on his ass (especially since these were his favourite red jeans).

 

"Come on, you can make me pancakes for scaring me like that. I thought you were going to say you were quitting Julliard," she muttered, taking his hand and tugging him towards the kitchen.

 

"Are you kidding? After all of the work it took to get **into** Julliard, I couldn't quit! Besides, my sister would _literally_ kill me," Ryan said with a shudder. "And then probably wear my skin to get into Julliard herself," he added, wincing at the idea.

 

"That's gross, and I really hope it's not true. You do realise that you have to introduce me to Sharpay one day, Ryan? You can't avoid her forever," Kelsi said pointedly.

 

"I can definitely try... My sister's the kind of person who'd wear white to someone else's wedding and demand everyone pay attention to her instead of the bride and groom."

 

"Uh-huh. She sounds like a blast," she said drily. "Oh, no. Don't think you've distracted me _that_ easily," Kelsi added when he tried to head to their bedroom rather than the kitchen. "Pancakes."

 

"You're such a slave driver," Ryan sighed dramatically.

 

"You love me."

 

He kissed her with a grin. "Of course I do."

 

...

 

"GET OUT!"

 

Chad stepped back a few paces as his girlfriend yelled at him and threw him out of her apartment. _Again_. Their relationship had been as on and off as any celebrity's, but by the look on Taylor's face, Chad figured that this time it was off and actually (finally) staying that way.

 

He managed to catch the bag and basketball that were thrown at him in quick succession, but got clipped in the side of the head by the box of basketball trading cards that followed and promptly dropped his first two catches. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw that the box hadn't broken open, and gathered all of his things quickly, shoving them back into his bag. Chad was thankful that she'd at least let him leave with clothes this time, and pressed the heel of his palm against his pounding head. It came away wet with blood, and Chad groaned at the sight. He hated seeing blood; even in a gory horror film when he knew it was fake, the mere thought of that much blood made him feel queasy.

 

On further (and very reluctant) inspection, Chad discovered that the cut was only a small one, and was easily fixed with a bandaid. Now, onto bigger problems: where to go now that Taylor had dumped him and kicked him out of the apartment. She'd always been a jealous person, and had slowly picked away at his relationships and friendships with people from both high school and college until Chad had no one else but her. So now, without Taylor, he quite literally had nowhere else to go. His dorm-mate, Art, had his girlfriend over that night (according to a text that he'd received mid-fight but didn't dare answer) and Chad didn't particularly want to be anywhere near his room with the music Art played during sex. Troy had moved in with Gabriella, and after the epic fight that Taylor had instigated between the three of them, Chad doubted he'd ever be able to show his face to his former best-friend (or his fiancée) again.

 

Heading over to his car, Chad threw his things in the backseat and pulled out of the parking lot. It was a long weekend, but since it was already late on the Friday night, there was little traffic on the roads. Chad had planned on taking Taylor up to New York (the Knicks were playing, and he still had the tickets hidden in his trading card box), but she'd already made plans with someone and _she'd told him that_ , and the fight had begun. It had ended up with a smashed vase and he hadn't even told her about the tickets.

 

"Ah, fuck it," he muttered to himself.

 

 _He'd still go up to New York to watch the Knicks play, and he'd use the spare seat to hold a butt-load of nachos_.

 

...

 

Kelsi was surprised to see the called ID on her phone, but answered by the third ring anyway. Chad's voice was slurred on the other end, but she decoded him saying something about seeing her name in lights, his credit card had bounced at the hotel, and could she pretty please put him up for the night?

 

She hadn't seen Chad since high school, back when she used to tutor him in English, Drama, and Music. He'd always said how smart she was, how stupid he felt, and after much debating and arguing comprising their three years of tutoring, he'd actually come out with straight B's. Taylor was much more interested in Chad after that, and after Taylor had finally agreed to go on a date with him, Chad had thanked Kelsi with a kiss on the cheek, her face burning.

 

So despite the fact that it was two in the morning, and they hadn't spoken in three years, Kelsi found herself driving to the bar to pick Chad up (the bartender had been given the phone and provided the address since Chad had no idea where he was, and with his drunken slur, probably couldn't pronounce the place anyway). Chad waved to her in greeting, his drink sloshing about in the glass, and she frowned at him sternly.

 

"Don't look like that, Kelsi. It's been a bad day," he groaned.

 

There was a deep purple bruise forming behind a bandaid on his head, so Kelsi didn't doubt it.

 

"Can you walk on your own?" she asked, moving towards him.

 

"'Course I can!" Chad stood up abruptly to prove it, only to stumble over his own feet.

 

Kelsi hurried to hold him upright, and sighed, turning and awkwardly helping him out of the bar. He had grown even taller than the last time they'd seen each other, put on a lot of muscle from what she could feel, and she was still tiny enough to make the whole trip to the car excessively slow and awkward for the both of them.

 

When Chad was loaded into the car, Kelsi drove back home slowly, trying not to subject the man to motion sickness on top of everything else. Getting Chad indoors and into her apartment was even more of a challenge, but she managed it in the end. Kelsi was just glad that Ryan was working late and wouldn't be disturbed by a drunk's version of _quiet_.

 

Scrounging up a bucket for Chad to throw up in if he needed, Kelsi covered him with a blanket and went to make herself a cup of tea to try and calm down. It was odd to have Chad call her after so long, and even odder to have him in her apartment. But the most disconcerting thing was that Kelsi had no idea when the hell she and Ryan had bought a bucket.

 

...

 

Chad woke up with a groan, his head pounding, his mouth tasting awful, and his head really pounding like crazy. He groaned again, rolling up into a sitting position as he tried to work out where he was.

 

"Ah, you're finally awake. I was getting worried," Kelsi said with a concerned frown, looking into the darkened lounge room.

 

"Kelsi? What... Where..." he trailed off, the effort of talking too much for him at that moment, and flopped back onto the lounge, his hands covering his eyes tightly.

 

"You got drunk, called me up, and I dragged your lousy butt back to my place since you had nowhere else to go, and you saw my name in lights or something," she explained.

 

Chad frowned, trying to recall any of this. "I saw your name on the TV. You composed the music for that new Broadway show," he remembered.

 

" _The King's Fool_ ," Kelsi replied with a nod. "So, do you care to explain how and why you ended up calling me up at one-thirty in the morning for a place to crash? I don't mind having old friends over, but I generally like to know at an hour that's not interrupting my sleep," she said with a grin.

 

He sighed, looking up at the ceiling. "Taylor broke up with me. She really meant it this time, and after everything that happened between me and Troy, I didn't want to see risk getting a fist to the face after already getting hit with my trading card box," Chad muttered, his fingers feeling the bruise lightly.

 

"So you drove from _Boston_ up to _New York_ to get drunk in the shittiest bar you could find and call me?" Kelsi asked pointedly.

 

"No. I had tickets for the Knicks game. I only realised when I got here that they're for the game tonight, not last night, so I decided to go get drunk instead. That's what people do when their possessive control-freak of a girlfriend dumps them, right?"

 

"No idea, but it _does_ sound like the stereotypical male thing to do after a break up," she said with a shrug. "Need me to get anything for you?"

 

"A time machine to tell me not to drink as much as I did?" Chad asked weakly, his stomach curdling.

 

"Sorry, fresh out of time machines. Anything else?"

 

"Dry toast and a strong coffee."

 

"Still have it black, one sugar?"

 

He nodded, surprised that she'd remembered.

 

"Right, you just sit here and wallow in pity, and I'll fix you up."

 

"Hey, it's all right, you don't have to," Chad protested, suddenly feeling like he shouldn't be making demands on Kelsi after everything he'd already put her through.

 

"It's toast and coffee, I think I'll survive the ordeal. You can make me breakfast one day if you really feel that bad about it," she said with a light laugh, leaving before he could protest.

 

...

 

"So, is he for me?" Ryan asked Kelsi as she came into the kitchen, a cheeky grin showing over the rim of his coffee mug.

 

"No, he's not for you," Kelsi said, rolling her eyes. "Chad is an old friend from high school. He's in town for a few days after a bad breakup, and needed somewhere to crash."

 

"Mm-hmm. I haven't met many of your friends from high school. Why is that?"

 

"Probably the same reason I haven't met your sister yet," she replied.

 

"Please, not _all_ of your classmates could have been backstabbing narcissistic divas," Ryan said, rolling his eyes.

 

Kelsi put two pieces of bread in the toaster and organised Chad's coffee, ignoring his comment for the moment.

 

"Besides, you can't talk about not meeting high school friends," she added pointedly. "I've met maybe two of your friends from that precious private school you went to."

 

"I've told you that I never wanted to go to that private school anyway. I would've been fine at a public school, but Sharpay refused to go to the same school as people who didn't know what a Tony Award was," Ryan said, rolling his eyes. He decided to change the topic, a grin flitting across his face as he thought of the play he'd acted in the night before. "So, do you want the long or short version of the gossip from the play last night?"

 

"How juicy is it?" she asked, grinning.

 

"Very juicy. Backstage frolicking almost brought the house down. Or the curtain, at least," he said, chuckling.

 

"Oh, definitely the long story for that. I'll be right back," Kelsi said, kissing him briefly before plating up the browned toast, carrying the plate and coffee mug to the lounge room.

 

...

 

Kelsi had left the door open slightly, and the kitchen conversation wafted into the lounge room. Realising that Kelsi lived with someone, Chad felt guilty that he was imposing on her time with his stupid problem. He stood up, planning to leave without making any more of a nuisance of himself than he already had. Kelsi opened the door then, saw that he was standing and told him to sit down. The tone of her voice was reminiscent of her tutoring tone, and Chad sat down quickly.

 

"From the amount of alcohol you drank, you've probably still got a lot in your system. Have something to eat and drink, and when you're ready, come out to the kitchen, okay?" Kelsi said with a quick smile.

 

"Thanks, Kelsi. Sorry about all of this," he murmured.

 

"Fuck, Chad, what did Taylor _do_ to you?" Kelsi asked, frowning as she heard the meek tone of his voice. "Since when do _you_ apologise about anything?"

 

"I've changed in the last three years, Kelsi," Chad replied with a shrug. "So've you, Little Miss Don't-Swear-In-My-House."

 

She waved off his comment and left the lounge room again. Chad sighed and ate his dry toast, his eyes closed tightly. He really had changed since he'd least seen Kelsi; he'd gone from a confident (perhaps _too_ confident) guy who knew exactly what he wanted and where he wanted to go, to a complete shell of that person, always looking to his girlfriend for an answer, a suggestion of where to go, what to do, who to see. He'd done everything she told him to do, even forgoing some of his basketball training sessions because Taylor said he was spending too much time on the court instead of with her. _And where had it gotten him?_ _Hell, no wonder Troy hated him_.

 

His toast finished and mug empty, Chad stood up, sighing in relief when the room didn't start spinning around him. Heading to the kitchen, Chad walked in on Kelsi and her boyfriend kissing like their lives depended on it, Kelsi sitting up on the kitchen counter with her leg wrapped around the guy's waist. Embarrassed, Chad turned around to leave quickly, and ended up smacking the plate against the doorframe, chipping off a large chunk of ceramic. The plate fell from his grasp and Chad tried to catch it, only to cut his hand on the chipped part of the plate. Blood oozed from his fingers and his vision swam, the plate clattering to the ground, forgotten for the moment.

 

...

 

Ryan had described the backstage drama (the lead actress got caught with an understudy under her skirt) sparing no detail as he mimicked her lust-filled screams. He was looking at Kelsi with sparkling eyes and that gorgeous Cheshire-cat smile of his, and she just knew that he was imagining doing something similar with her. She wasn't going to let him go that far - not with Chad in the next room - but Kelsi figured that a kiss wouldn't do any harm.

 

 _Riiight... The last time Ryan had 'just kissed' her, they'd ended up naked in the cloakroom of the country club his parents owned_.

 

Ryan had her up on the bench before she could say or do anything, his lips hard against hers as he slid a hand up her thigh. Kelsi responded before she truly thought about it, her leg wrapping around his waist as she kissed him back eagerly, her hands fisting in his hair. He grinned against her lips, his free hand moving to caress her breast. Ryan slipped his tongue into her mouth, flicking against her tongue gently, knowing how it drove her wild. Her free hand clutched his shoulder, her leg tightening around his waist and she fought his tongue with her own, wondering why she'd thought it was a bad idea to have sex with him right then.

 

A loud smash broke them apart, and Kelsi blinked hazily to see Chad trying to juggle a plate. It fell to the ground, smashing into pieces throughout the kitchen. She saw the blood on his hands and slid out from Ryan's grasp quickly.

 

"Chad, look at me," she ordered, waiting until he had done so to continue. "Do not move from there, all right? Don't look at your hand, keep your eyes on me, okay?"

 

Chad nodded, his eyes focused on her with a desperation that she hadn't seen since the great orange-slicing fiasco of 2009.

 

"Ryan, can you get the vacuum and spare first-aid kit from the laundry please?"

 

"Right," he murmured, using the kitchen's second entrance to go to the laundry and avoid the shards of glass.

 

"You'll be fine, Chad. Just don't look down," Kelsi added, glancing down to see blood dripping onto the kitchen floor.

 

Ryan returned with the vacuum and first-aid kit in a matter of minutes, and cleaned up the mess of ceramic so that Kelsi could walk over to Chad without getting any shards stuck in her feet. She kept her eyes on Chad as she walked over slowly, and when she was close enough, Kelsi opened a wet cloth packet and cleaned up his hands. She dabbed antiseptic on Chad's fingers and wrapped each of the cuts in bandaids, checking to ensure that no blood was seeping out of the sides.

 

"Okay, I think that's all of the ceramic. Just be careful where you step for a while," Ryan said, setting the vacuum aside. "Hi, I'm Ryan Evans," he said, holding out his hand to shake.

 

"I'm Chad Danforth."

 

"Nice to meet you. Is your hand all right?" Ryan asked, looking to it.

 

"It should be. Not the first time Kelsi's had to do something like this for me," he admitted. "I really don't like blood."

 

"Well, I tend to like blood more when it's under my skin too. Besides, I'm terrified of spiders, so I won't throw stones," Ryan said, shrugging.

 

"Really?" Chad asked, surprised.

 

Even when Troy had found out how much Chad disliked the sight of blood, he'd given him a ' _really, dude, it's just blood_ ' look and had ribbed him about it for months.

 

Ryan nodded with a grin. "So what brings you to New York?"

 

"Well, my girlfriend dumped me, and I've got tickets to the Knicks that were meant to be an anniversary present," Chad said. "Didn't want them to go to waste."

 

"Oh, I definitely approve. Are you a baseball fan too?" Ryan asked, grinning.

 

"Oh, no. You two are going to be talking sports all day now, aren't you?" Kelsi interrupted with a good-natured groan. "Fine, then I'll be in the studio," she said, pressing a kiss to Ryan's cheek, giving Chad a smile and leaving them to ramble sports statistics all day if they wanted. "Ow, fuck!"

 

"Kels," Ryan said quickly, running out to where she was standing in the small hallway between the kitchen and lounge room.

 

Chad followed him to see Kelsi leaning against the wall, her knee bent as she tried to survey her foot. Ryan knelt in front of her, looking at her foot with a frown.

 

"Sorry, Kels, it looks like a piece of the plate's in your foot. I didn't think of cleaning the hallway. Come on, I'll get the tweezers," he murmured, standing and helping her hop to the bathroom.

 

Chad felt even worse than he had before, and grabbed the vacuum from where it was resting against the kitchen bench to vacuum the hallway before someone else got hurt because of him.

 

...

 

"Ow-ow-ow-ow!" Kelsi had her eyes squeezed shut tightly, her fingers curled as she gripped the edge of the bathroom basin.

 

Ryan murmured soft words of apology, the tweezers slowly pulling out the piece of ceramic in her sole. _He might be sorry, but damn it, it felt like Ryan was setting up an excavation site on her foot_!

 

"There, all gone. I think we've got another bottle of antiseptic in here, just sit tight," Ryan said with a smile, kissing her ankle gently.

 

"Oh, no you don't, mister. We're not doing anything while Chad's out there vacuuming our hallway," Kelsi muttered.

 

"I wasn't planning on doing anything," Ryan protested, a look of innocence on his face. "But it would be interesting to see if I could make you scream louder than the vacuum cleaner."

 

"You made me scream loud enough to get the police called on us by neighbours three flights down, I'm fairly sure I can scream louder than a vacuum. But we're not testing that theory right now," she added quickly.

 

"But we can later, right?" Ryan asked with a grin, applying the antiseptic to her foot gently.

 

"Only if I can test the same theory on you," she replied, laughing.

 

"Looking forward to it. Do you want help getting up to the studio?" he asked, helping her to her feet carefully.

 

Kelsi tested her foot gingerly, but was relieved to feel the sharp stinging pain gone. "I'll be fine. You go have fun talking home runs and goals with Chad. He could use some guy talk, I reckon."

 

"Sounds good to me. I'll give him the tour after guy talk has been had," Ryan said.

 

Chad was waiting in the hallway quietly, looking as though he was silently beating himself up for something that hadn't been his fault.

 

"It's gone now, don't look so glum, Chad," Kelsi said cheerfully. "Ryan's dying to talk your ear off about sports," she added, grinning when Chad brightened up a bit.

 

"Now, before we get into the serious stuff, I'm going to need a list of your favourite teams."

 

"That **is** the serious stuff!" Chad exclaimed, letting Ryan lead him back to the kitchen.

 

Laughing to herself, Kelsi made her way into the lounge room and headed up the almost-hidden set of stairs to the studio to where her piano waited.

...

End of the first chapter.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chad spends time with Kelsi and Ryan, and invites Ryan to the Knicks game with him.

Chad wasn't quite sure how, but somehow the conversation turned to Taylor and how she had dumped him for the sixth (and final) time.

 

"Taylor's really smart, so dating someone like me was a burden on her. I didn't get any of her jokes, I had no idea what book she was quoting, and if she even mentioned the word _science_ near me, I just tuned out. I always had sports when I was at school, and didn't care about the rest of it until I realised that I couldn't get into Boston University without some sort of education backing me. I asked Kelsi to start tutoring me in our junior year, and managed to get straight B's and Taylor's attention at the same time. I'd liked her for years, but we always moved in different circles, y'know? She was always with the smart ones, and I was always with the jocks... When we started dating, she said that she was low maintenance and didn't mind if I spent time with the guys or at practice."

 

"Most girls that say they're low maintenance _really_ aren't," Ryan muttered, shaking his head.

 

"Yeah, I know that now," Chad said with a sigh. "She made me feel like I was better than everyone else, that she'd chosen me because she had high expectations of me, and now I had to live up to them. Taylor took me out to places with fancy-names and weird food, and I always came out of the place feeling like I'd failed or embarrassed her in some way. She was really nice about it at first, just suggesting I start wearing a suit jacket, change the jeans for trousers, that sort of thing, but then it seemed that nothing I did could ever please her. In my head, I knew that she was trying to change me, but somehow I'd convinced myself that that's what people in relationships do. They change for the people they love. Who cares if your friends are telling you that she's an evil bitch spreading rumours about you behind your back? _They're all lying, and she's the only one that matters, because she's smarter than you and she picked you over everyone else_."

 

Chad sighed, sipping at the water Ryan had placed in front of him before continuing, "Then she started picking fights with me and everyone I knew. She just went through every friendship, relationship, acquaintance I had and picked at them until we all fell apart. My best friend, Troy... We'd been friends since we were kids, and she... Taylor _knew_ how much his friendship meant to me. She saved him 'til last. We were out on a double date, Troy with his girlfriend Gabriella, and me and Taylor. She actually got on with Gabriella because Gabby's as smart as she is, and I thought, _hey, this could actually work out_."

 

"Obviously, it didn't," Ryan murmured sympathetically.

 

"That's an understatement," Chad said with a hollow laugh. "Taylor went to the bathroom soon after Troy left to get the drinks. I started talking with Gabby because she was just glowing and I found out that Troy had proposed to her earlier that day. I was congratulating her when I hear this screech come from the bar. After all of the fights we'd had, I knew that screech far too well, and I looked over to see Taylor slap Troy. I swear that _every_ person in the restaurant was watching her as she started screaming about him trying to kiss and grope her, and she was his best friend's girlfriend, and his girlfriend was sitting right there at the table, _how dare he_? All of the usual accusations, I guess."

 

"Sounds about right. So what did you do?"

 

Coughing slightly, Chad took another sip of water to postpone the answer for as long as he could. After dealing with Sharpay for his entire life, Ryan had mountains of patience, and simply waited for Chad to continue talking.

 

"Taylor came over to the table, crying. Troy followed her over, saying that he hadn't done a damn thing, and he'd just proposed to Gabriella, so why _would_ he do anything?" Chad said, looking at the glass of water in his hands for a long moment. "Taylor started shouting at me, about how I wasn't defending her, how Troy had just tried to make a pass at her, how I wasn't enough of a man to stand up for her, all of this stuff that just made me feel like absolute crap, though I didn't realise that until later. The words just kept coming, and she was screaming, and everyone was watching, and I just _snapped_. I stood up and decked Troy, told him to never speak to me again, and left the restaurant with Taylor. That was about a year ago, and I haven't heard from him since."

 

"Have you called him?" Ryan asked.

 

"No. I've tried a couple times, but I can't bring myself to let it go past the second ring. I still can't believe that I did that to him, and I can't forgive myself for it."

 

"You're not the one who needs to do the forgiving here, Chad. That's up to Troy, isn't it?"

 

Chad opened his mouth, trying to think of a response, then he shut it abruptly and nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

 

"Do you feel up to calling him today? Or you're still getting over the breakup with Hurricane Taylor?"

 

He grinned wryly, and wondered if Ryan knew just how accurate his analogy had been. "I think I'm still getting over it. I mean, it's been a long time coming, and I've thought about everything she's done - and everything I've done - for months, but it's different saying it all out loud," Chad admitted, finishing off the water.

 

"Totally understandable. Well, now that the heart to heart's over, I'll give you the grand tour," Ryan said, clapping him on the back and standing up.

 

"Oh, yeah, sure," he said, following Ryan through the kitchen's second doorway.

 

"Laundry and downstairs bathroom," Ryan said, putting the vacuum cleaner away. "We need to go back into the kitchen to get out. That door's just the linen cupboard," he added, seeing Chad going to open a nearby door.

 

"Oh, right," Chad said, letting his hand fall to his side and hurrying back into the kitchen.

 

"The kitchen again, lounge room, and dining room's just at the end of the hall there. The entrance to the apartment's though the dining room too, in case you missed it coming in last night," Ryan said with a grin. "The stairs up to the studio, bedroom and upstairs bathroom are in the lounge room here," he said, leading Chad over to a nook tucked in at the end of the lounge itself.

 

The staircase wound its way up to a second floor, which was open plan and vastly different to the rooms downstairs. A Japanese screen with a picture of a mountain and long stalk-like birds kept the bed somewhat private, but Chad could still see a pair of boots and a thrown sheet poking out from behind the wooden frame. Two armchairs were sitting near the bed, a small rug lying between them. The left side of the studio was comprised of a long wall of clothes, shoes, hats, scarves, and costumes (Chad swore he could see a maid's outfit), a stage set at the end, with a door leading God knew where in the middle of the stage wall, and Kelsi's piano on the wall opposite to the wall of clothes. Next to her piano was a large glass table full of music sheets, music books, pens and pencils. A pair of mannequin busts sat beside the music table, and finally, near the entrance, there was a smaller wooden table that held a sewing machine, with various materials stored in a clear container underneath. Then, poking out between the stage and the wall of clothes, Chad saw a bright blue doorway that Ryan told him led into the bathroom. Ryan picked up a few stray clothes, pitching them over the screen and onto the bed.

 

"It's a mess, but it's home," Ryan said with a chuckle.

 

"It wasn't a mess last weekend, we've just had a very creative week," Kelsi called from her place at the piano, music flowing from her fingertips.

 

"No, it's great," Chad said honestly. "How many clothes do you own?" he added in disbelief.

 

"At the last stocktake we had a combined total of 1,375 items. Not including hats, which is a shame, because I have a very nice collection."

 

"Yet you only seem to ever wear the same three hats," Kelsi called over her shoulder with a grin.

 

"They're my favourites. Don't tell the other hats I said that," Ryan added in a low undertone to Chad.

 

"Uh, okay, I won't," he added uncertainly.

 

"Ryan, you're coming off crazy," Kelsi said, shaking her head. She stopped playing and spun on her chair to face them.

 

"What's a bit of insanity between friends?"

 

"A lot more insanity when you're involved. Come on, help me with this, it doesn't sound right and it's driving me nuts," she muttered, waving Ryan and Chad over.

 

"I don't think I'll be any help with this," Chad admitted.

 

"Just say whatever comes into your head, it doesn't even have to make sense," Kelsi assured him, turning to face the keys again.

 

She played the piece before her, her lips set in a determined line as her eyes were focused on nothing but the black dots before her. Just when it was getting really good, Kelsi stopped playing and looked back at them.

 

"What next?"

 

Ryan thought about it for a moment, sitting down next to her. "How about something like this?" he suggested, music flowing as easily for him as it did for Kelsi.

 

"What do you think, Chad?" Kelsi asked, smiling up at him.

 

"Umm, I really have no idea. They both sound great... But I don't know if I'd follow your piece with what Ryan just played," Chad added, frowning briefly. "Yours was just going up into the goosebump stage, and Ryan's started lower, like the beginning."

 

"All right... What about this?" Kelsi asked, nodding for Ryan to start playing his piece again.

 

He did so immediately, Kelsi joining in with her written work from the start of the page, the two pieces of music joining in such a way that it really did give Chad goosebumps. Kelsi's written piece was longer than Ryan's, and she altered the end so that it tapered off rather than going up again.

 

"That was definitely better," Chad said, rubbing his bump-covered arms with a grin.

 

"Does music always give you goosebumps?" Ryan asked curiously.

 

"Not always. Usually just Kelsi's," he said, shrugging. "I had a lot of time to listen to her play when she tutored me."

 

"Half the time, I swear that's the only reason you came back," she said, laughing around the pencil that was held between her teeth as she erased some of the notes, taking the pencil out to rewrite them.

 

"So it's gone from a solo to a duet?" Ryan asked, getting a nod in return. "All right, let's try again and make sure it really works."

 

"How are you going to judge that?" Chad asked curiously.

 

"By your goosebumps. Up on the stage with you," Ryan said, grinning at him.

 

"What?"

 

"Stand on the stage so we can see you," he replied, nodding in encouragement.

 

"Seriously, you're going to judge the song by my goosebumps?" Chad asked in disbelief.

 

"Sure, why not?"

 

 _Well, he didn't really have a response for that_. Chad stepped up onto the stage, feeling a little awkward and a lot silly. Kelsi and Ryan started playing again, and Chad couldn't stop the trail of goosebumps that spread up across his arms.

 

"I think he likes it, Kels," Ryan said with a laugh.

 

Kelsi glanced up and grinned at Chad's expression as he tried to rub his arms and get the goosebumps to go away.

 

"Seems like he does. How about this?" she asked, moving up a scale and deviating from her written music.

 

"Ooh, I like it," Ryan said with a nod, chuckling when he saw Chad break out with even more goosebumps. "What do you think of this?" he murmured, adding an extra few chords.

 

"C'mon, you two can stop now," Chad called, his legs now covered by damn goosebumps.

 

Kelsi laughed, her fingers slowing to a stop. Beside her, Ryan stopped too and they looked to Chad, who was still working at getting his goosebumps down.

 

"Are you all right, Chad?" Kelsi asked, grinning at him.

 

"These goosebumps aren't going down," he muttered, rubbing at them some more. "What's the song for anyway?"

 

"We're producing a musical at Julliard. I've got to prepare a selection of music and songs to demonstrate next month. The panel will decide whether my songs are any good, and if they should be included in the play."

 

"Please, of course they're good. _You_ composed them," Ryan said, kissing her gently.

 

He swung around on the seat to stand up, walking over to the wardrobe and pulling out a thick coat. Taking it over to the stage, Ryan stepped up and placed the coat around Chad's shoulders.

 

"That should warm you up while I boil the kettle, all right?" Ryan offered.

 

"All right, thanks," Chad said, embarrassed by his reaction to _music_.

 

Neither Ryan nor Kelsi seemed to think his music-bumps were weird, and Chad knew that he never would have had the same reaction if any of his old friends had seen the same thing.

 

"What time's your Knicks game on tonight, Chad?" Kelsi asked, standing to go to the kitchen.

 

"Eight," he answered. "Would you mind telling me exactly what am I wearing?" Chad asked, stepping off the stage in what looked to be a fur-lined coat.

 

"It's fake, don't worry. Ryan bought it for a Pimps and Prostitutes party," Kelsi said, shaking her head. "If he comes near you with a hat or cane, run," she advised, heading down the stairs.

 

Ryan just laughed and clapped him on the back as they followed her. "It's the warmest coat I've got, unless you wanted one of Kelsi's cardigans?"

 

"I'll be fine with the pimp coat. I think," he added.

 

"So since it looks like you're staying here for the night, do you want to have a late lunch with us? Ryan cooks and people think they've died and gone to Heaven," Kelsi said, grinning.

 

"Whereas Kelsi cooks and people just think they've died," Ryan retorted, snickering.

 

"Oh, shut up. I survived fine before you came along."

 

"Tinned spaghetti and cup 'o' noodles doesn't count as surviving."

 

"I was just going to have a hotdog at the game, but lunch does sound good," Chad admitted, his stomach rumbling in agreement.

 

"All right. The kitchen is my domain, so both of you out," Ryan said, waving them out.

 

"Come on, we'll see if there's any daytime TV we can mock while the master chef prepares our meal," Kelsi said, taking Chad's uninjured hand and leading him to the lounge room.

 

"Y'know, your apartment is set up really weird," Chad muttered as he sat down.

 

Kelsi pressed a button on the remote, the TV sliding down from the roof. "You've got no idea. It actually used to be two separate apartments. The one above was mine, and this one was Ryan's. Then we started dating, and we had a hell of a time actually seeing each other with our timetables being all over the place. We actually rescheduled a Valentine's Day date so many times that we didn't have it until mid-May," Kelsi said with a laugh. "We got permission from the building owner to combine the two apartments early last year, and it's been much better. The door that you saw on the stage actually leads out into the hallway."

 

"How'd you get permission to do that? Isn't there regulations and whatever?"

 

"Well, the Evans own the building, and Ryan managed to persuade them to combine our two apartments. It helped that he's owned half of the apartments in the building since he was 16. I was actually renting my apartment, but I didn't know that he was the owner until a week before we started dating. He came knocking, asking for the rent and to see if I was all right, since I was a day late and he was concerned since I was always so prompt with payments. I'd had a cold for the last three days, slept for most of it, and looked like absolute crap, but he managed to recognise me from Julliard, which was nice for my ego," Kelsi said, grinning.

 

"So, you got better, went back to Julliard the next week, he asked you out and you started going out?" Chad assumed.

 

"Not exactly... I went back to Julliard the next day, which I admit wasn't the smartest thing I've ever done. I almost stopped a production of _Annie_ ," Kelsi mused. "Ryan found me tossing my cookies in a garbage bin after lunch and took me home. He cleaned me up and made sure I didn't choke to death on my own vomit. I woke up, found that he'd bought me chicken soup, and while that was nice, I then found out that he'd read my music," she said, frowning. "I went off my head at him."

 

"Then I completely sympathise with him," Chad muttered, remembering the time when he'd done something similar and had been faced with Hurricane Kelsi: 40 percent anger, 40 percent disappointment, and 20 percent destructive brute force. (She'd hurt him, but Coach Bolton refused to accept injuries obtained via Chinese burns and nipple cripples as a reason not to play the game.)

 

"Not funny, Chad," she said with a glower. "Anyway, I went off my head, Ryan kissed me and I avoided him until he threatened to use his skeleton key to open my door and check that I hadn't mysteriously died."

 

"I also wanted my casserole dish back," Ryan said as he came into the lounge room, carrying three plates of food. "Not quite hotdogs, but I figured burgers with my special sauce would suffice."

 

"Oh, awesome. You did sweet potato chips too! Thank you," Kelsi said, taking her plate with a kiss.

 

"Like I'd leave those out."

 

Chad looked down at the orange sticks dubiously, glancing over to see Kelsi spearing three or four on her fork.

 

"Don't worry, if you don't eat them, Kelsi will. And she'll probably give you half of her burger in return," Ryan said with a grin, not at all offended by his wariness. "So, what are we watching?" he asked, looking to the screen as he sat on the other side of Chad.

 

" _Ready, steady, cook_ is the only thing worth heckling on. What's the time? We could squeeze in a movie before your game, if you want?" Kelsi asked, looking to Chad.

 

"Uh, yeah. It's about noon, so that'll be plenty of time for a movie."

 

"I call _Jurassic Park_ ," Kelsi said immediately.

 

" _Singin' in the rain_ ," Ryan said.

 

"Action or musical? I'll go action, definitely. I don't watch musicals," Chad said, almost apologetically to Ryan.

 

"Unfair advantage, Kels! And why don't you watch musicals?"

 

"Mainly because there's singing involved," he replied.

 

"Now you're going to tell me you don't like music?"

 

"I like music. I just don't like people breaking into song for no reason whatsoever."

 

"No, you just don't like singing. Chad won't even watch the Buffy episode _Once More With Feeling_ ," Kelsi said to Ryan pointedly.

 

"It's all right, I don't mind. Everyone's entitled to their own opinion. Even if they're wrong," Ryan said, sounding as if he was trying to convince himself not to poison Chad's burger. "You just haven't found the right musical."

 

Chad snorted. "Yeah, right."

 

"You realise that Ryan's just taken that as a challenge? You're going to be bound and cuffed to a lounge in the near future. We've got every musical under the sun, from Grace Kelly to _Disney_."

 

"Grace Kelly? You mean, singing _and_ dancing? Oh, no. I don't dance. And I definitely don't watch movies with dancing. Unless it's something cool like _Step Up_ or _Take the Lead_."

 

"Antonio Banderas, not bad. Not the best either. We'll start with the classics in black and white, and go from there," Ryan said decisively.

 

Chad just shook his head, but since he was leaving the next day, he figured that he'd let Ryan have his fun.

 

"All right, movie's starting. Quiet now," Kelsi said firmly, sitting next to Chad again.

 

A few minutes into the movie, Chad finally realised that it was odd of Kelsi and Ryan to not be sitting next to each other, rather than on each side of him. He finished his burger and half of Kelsi's, who'd already swiped most of his sweet potato chips, their empty plates sitting on the coffee table next to Ryan.

 

"Oh, come on! They're not cute, they're going to eat you!" Kelsi yelled at the screen.

 

Chad tried not to laugh at the familiarity of Kelsi's inability to keep her mouth shut during a movie. Especially a movie with people who actively encouraged the antagonist, whether it was a creature or person. He'd never been able to look at _Godzilla_ the same way since watching it with Kelsi.

 

"No, you idiots! Stop running already! You're going to get yourself killed! Just play dead or something! You're descended from apes, surely you can climb a tree!" Ryan called.

 

"Who's dumb idea was it to build a park for dinosaurs anyway?" Chad added, grinning when Kelsi and Ryan laughed.

 

The rest of the movie was spent heckling both the characters and dinosaurs. Kelsi collapsed against Chad when Ryan paused the movie to point out the 'dinosaur supervisor' role that had obviously not been well paid, her entire body trembling with laughter and pressing against Chad's body in the most tantalising ways. Chad laughed too, and tried to squash the thoughts he was having about Kelsi pressed up against him in other ways when her boyfriend was _right there_ beside them. Ryan cleared their plates, still chuckling at Kelsi's laughter.

 

"I think I'm warm enough now," Chad said, standing quickly and taking the pimp coat off. "I just need the bathroom," he added, placing the coat down on the lounge and hurrying to the bathroom.

 

He took a few minutes to contain himself and tell himself that he was the worst sort of friend to even be thinking something like that. When he was composed again, Chad washed his hands and left the bathroom. Ryan was rinsing off the last of the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher, and grinned at him briefly as he closed the door.

 

"You okay? Look a little warm there, Chad."

 

"I'm fine. How'd you like to come to the Knicks game with me?" Chad asked, his own way of appeasing his guilty conscience.

 

"Seriously?" Ryan asked, an excited grin already starting to form.

 

"Yeah. I was only going to use the spare seat for my nachos, but I reckon it'd be better to go with you. You'd keep my mind off Taylor more than the nachos would," he added, grinning.

 

"I'll do my best," he promised. "You really don't mind though?" Ryan added uncertainly.

 

"No, not at all. It'll be good," Chad said genuinely, and surprising himself at the truth in his reassurance.

 

"Excellent. Hey, Kels. I'm going to the Knicks game with Chad tonight. You want a lift anywhere?"

 

"Nah, I'll stay in tonight. Might watch Jurassic Park two and three."

 

"You're going to watch them without us?" Chad asked.

 

She grinned slightly. "Fine, I'll wait for you two then. Ryan, help me choose a movie?"

 

" _Godzilla_ , since you're in the mood for overgrown lizards."

 

"Godzilla isn't a lizard; he's a Kaiju, a cross between a whale and a gorilla," Kelsi pointed out in exasperation at the old argument, shaking her head. "But that does sound good. I might even get the sequel in if I start soon. I should have enough time to work on the musical's song after that. When are you two leaving?"

 

"Soon, it's almost five, and I don't want to be stuck in the line for any longer than I have to be," Ryan said.

 

"The game's three hours away," Chad said, frowning.

 

"Right, and the line to get in takes about an hour. Then there's the food and drinks line to deal with, and that's just before we get in the stadium itself," he pointed out.

 

"Seriously? Will we get in on time if we leave now?" Chad asked, looking to his watch.

 

"Hopefully. I'll get changed and we'll get going," he replied, heading up the stairs quickly.

 

"I'd better go help him. He's worse than a woman when it comes to picking outfits," Kelsi said with a laugh, hurrying after Ryan.

 

Her smile slipped as she stepped into their room-cum-studio and walked over to her boyfriend.

 

"You like him, don't you?" she asked quietly, pulling a vest from their wardrobe.

 

"I do, but I won't do anything, don't worry," Ryan said with a brilliant smile. "He's still getting over Taylor, and even though I know you like him too, it probably wouldn't be the right time to proposition him."

 

"Mmm," Kelsi agreed with a nod, not denying that she was attracted to Chad too. "You could leave later, you know. You've got the court-side seats and season passes from your parents."

 

"I know, but Chad's bought these tickets himself. I'd want to use them too," he said with a shrug. "What do you think, too much?" Ryan splayed his arms, clad in purple and orange-gold from head to toe.

 

"Your colours will run if you're on the mega screen thingy. Break it up a bit with this," she said, handing him the black vest in her hands.

 

"Good point. You're really okay staying home? Wasn't there an art exhibition or something?"

 

"That's next Friday, not this weekend," Kelsi replied.

 

"Ah, right. Remind me about it on Wednesday, and I should remember to go with you," Ryan said with a grin, buttoning up the vest.

 

"I'll put a reminder in your phone too," she said, smiling. Her expression fell slightly as she glanced back to the doorway. "You'll look after him, won't you, Ryan? I've never seen Chad like this before, and I don't know what he'll do."

 

Ryan's own grin slipped and he nodded seriously. "I'll do my best, Kels."

 

Kelsi smiled again, a loving smile that few were privy too, and Ryan hugged her close, always a little breathless that she'd chosen him.

 

"Enjoy your movie, Kels. I'll try not to wake you when we come back," Ryan added, kissing her and leading her down to the lounge room before leaving with Chad.

 

...

End of the second chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

A loud crash woke Kelsi up with a start, her eyes opened blearily as she tried to determine the source of the noise. If someone had broken in to steal from them, she was tempted to go downstairs to tell the thieves off to do it _quietly_. She was still somewhere between sleep and awake when she heard the giggling start, and the sound woke her up completely. Ryan had obviously been drinking beer. He always got giggly on beer, but she supposed it was better than the nausea he got from wine. There was a loud shushing sound that was louder than the giggling, and Kelsi sighed to herself, realising that Chad was just an inebriated as Ryan. She looked over at the clock on her bedside table, swearing when she saw that it was 3am. The giggling continued, and then Chad joined in with Ryan's laughter.

" _Try not to wake me_ , my butt," Kelsi muttered, getting out of bed and going downstairs to tell them off.

"Kels! You're up! See, we don't need to be quiet," Ryan exclaimed to Chad, grinning.

"I _was_ asleep, Ryan! Both of you keep it down so I can get back to sleep," Kelsi demanded, putting her hands on her hips and glaring.

Doing this action made her realise that she actually wasn't wearing clothing appropriate to be seen in front of other people. She was wearing one of Ryan's silky pyjama shirts and a pair of knickers that had seen better days. Kelsi realised that Chad was staring at her and blushed slightly.

"Isn't she beautiful?" Ryan asked Chad, his arm around the other man's shoulders.

Forcing herself not to cover herself in embarrassment, Kelsi glared at Ryan again. "You're drunk, Ryan. I hope you didn't drive home."

"I'm not drunk! I'm just tipsy," Ryan replied indignantly.

"We got a cab back; we couldn't find the car in the parking lot," Chad admitted, grinning.

"That doesn't surprise me. Would you mind helping me get Ryan upstairs?" Kelsi asked when her boyfriend didn't seem willing to let go of Chad.

He nodded, his eyes flicking to her shapely legs briefly. Ryan noticed the look and laughed against Chad's shoulder, his mouth hot through his shirt. Chad could feel his skin breaking out in goosebumps, and was glad that he was wearing a long-sleeved shirt.

He helped Kelsi get Ryan upstairs, and would have left but Ryan still had his arm around Chad's shoulders and was sticking like glue. Kelsi sighed and tried to pry his arm off, but it proved difficult when Ryan moved her around so she was standing before them, and proceeded to kiss her soundly. Chad watched them, his cheeks burning at the sight and the little noises that Kelsi was making in response to Ryan. Ryan grinned against her lips and his arm miraculously left Chad's shoulders. Chad missed the warmth, but then Ryan trailed his hand down his chest and his breath caught in his throat.

"Kiss him, Kels?" Ryan asked, breathing heavily against her.

Kelsi, still dazed from Ryan's kiss, licked her lips with a nod and turned to Chad, trying to gauge his response. _So much for not propositioning him_ , she thought vaguely. _Though maybe it was just the thing he needed to get over Taylor and her bitchy manipulating ways_.

"Will you let me kiss you, Chad?" she asked softly, looking up at him.

"What about Ryan?" he asked, looking to the pale man who was still stroking his chest.

"Don't worry, you can kiss me too," Ryan replied, grinning.

Chad realised that they wanted him to _join in_ with them. He tried to get his brain to _think_ \- it was hard when Ryan was still stroking his chest like _that_ , and Kelsi was wearing _that_ \- and he tried to weigh up the pros and cons of actually doing this. Then, without any bidding from him, his brain seemed to have a moment of complete clarity. Chad realised that if he said no right now, he'd regret it for the rest of his life. He'd look back on this night and wonder what could have happened between them. Chad would infinitely prefer to remember what had happened than to long over what could have been.

He looked from Kelsi to Ryan, licking his dry lips briefly. Then with an intensity that surprised all three of them, Chad pulled Ryan against his chest and kissed him as if his life depended on it. Kelsi could only stare as her boyfriend leaned into the kiss eagerly, his entire body pressed flush up against Chad's. Sure, she'd watched a few movies and TV shows where guys had kissed each other, but there was something very different and personal about it being done right in front of her. Not to mention it was damn hot too.

Ryan reached out for her, taking her hand and tugging her to stand right next to them again. The two men stopped kissing, and Chad didn't even seem to breathe before he was kissing her, Ryan's lips pressing feather light kisses against her neck. Ryan unbuttoned her shirt as Kelsi clung onto Chad, standing up on her tiptoes as his tongue delved into her mouth. The shirt was removed quickly, and Ryan kissed his way up her spine. Chad pulled away slowly, his mouth moving to kiss her collarbone. Ryan was caressing her torso softly, his hands dipping towards her breasts, only to move back up at the last moment. His teasing was driving her insane, and then Chad caught Ryan's fingers in his mouth, his tongue flitting against Ryan's fingertips. Against her body, Kelsi could feel Ryan's response, even without hearing the small whimper of pleasure he let out. Chad watched her, his eyes dark as he continued to suck and lick Ryan's fingers. Almost hesitantly, Chad moved his hands from their place on her hips and caressed her breasts, his warm hands cupping her and squeezing. She gasped in delight, leaning back against Ryan and offering her body up to Chad eagerly. Her response seemed to please Chad, and he ran the pads of his thumbs against her hardening nipples.

"Oh, fuck," Kelsi groaned, drawing Chad in for another heated kiss.

Ryan moved so that he was pressed up against Chad and began unbuttoning his shirt slowly, kissing him between each loosened buttonhole. Chad could feel Ryan's erection against him, and was surprised to realise that he felt even more turned on. Kelsi was rubbing her breasts against his chest, Ryan had pulled his shirt off and was now unbuttoning his pants, and Chad wanted nothing more than to stay like this forever. He kissed Kelsi again, his tongue flicking against hers and receiving a little whimper of pleasure in return. Taylor had never made a sound like that, always watching him as if she was waiting for a mistake, but he wasn't with her, he was with Kelsi and Ryan. They were both making delicious sounds in response to everything he was doing, and there was something wonderful about being the cause of those noises. Chad palmed Kelsi's breast slowly, and she almost screamed in response.

Behind him, Ryan chuckled and whispered in his ear, "Wait until she comes around your cock. You'll be deaf for a week."

The thought of being inside Kelsi made Chad harder still, then Ryan slipped his hand into his pants to wrap around his cock, and he almost came right there and then.

"Ryan, get out of those clothes right now," Kelsi said, her voice steadier than her legs seemed to be.

"Yes, Mistress Kelsi," Ryan said with a wink, stepping back to take his clothes off quickly.

 _Mistress? They weren't into some BDSM thing, were they_? Chad didn't think that he could handle that _on top_ of a threesome.

His worry must have shown on his face, because Kelsi hurried to reassure him. "Don't worry, it's just Ryan's sense of humour. He thinks I become more dominant in bed the hornier I get."

"I don't think it, I know she does. Trust me, if Kelsi tells you to do something, just do it and hold on for the ride," Ryan said with a laugh, pressing a kiss to Chad's bare shoulder blade.

Chad turned around to see Ryan standing there completely naked. He took a moment to look over him, a grin flitting onto his face as he saw how hard Ryan was. Kelsi stood behind Chad, her body pressing against his back. Her arm wrapped around his body, her hand slipping into his pants and grasping his cock.

"Ryan's waiting for you, Chad. Take the rest of your clothes off and kiss him again, I want to watch," she murmured, her hand stroking his cock at a leisurely pace.

"Yes, Mistress Kelsi," he said, grinning down at her.

She laughed softly and pressed a kiss to his back. "Go on, get started while I get the condoms."

Chad didn't need to be told twice, closing the distance between him and Ryan in a few strides and kissing him eagerly. Ryan grinned against his lips, his arms wrapped around his neck as Chad held his hips firmly. His knees almost buckled when Ryan ground his cock against his, and it took a lot of willpower (along with a few baseball statistics) to stay upright. Kelsi was back with them in a matter of minutes, ripping open two foil condom packets. She had the condoms on both of them easily, her hand wrapping around Chad's cock as she unrolled the rubber to sheath him completely.

"Fuck, you must buy huge condoms," Ryan breathed appreciatively and Chad nodded quickly, a blush on his cheeks.

Taylor had always complained about how expensive his condoms were, but as she refused to get pregnant, there was nothing else for it. Chad had always been made to feel as though he was nothing more than a burden on her, but then she'd say that she loved him, and he was lucky to have her. He'd _stupidly_ believed every minute and every word.

"You all right, Chad?" Kelsi asked him softly, her lips turned in a slight frown.

Chad nodded firmly and kissed her to distract her attention. He would be all right later.

Ryan guided them over to the bed when they were all finally undressed, pressing hot kisses to both Kelsi and Chad. Kelsi smiled against Chad's lips whenever Ryan kissed her, and it took him a minute to realise that Ryan was kissing Kelsi on her ticklish spots. She burst out laughing at one point, swiping at her boyfriend and saying how cruel he was. Ryan just gave a roguish grin and slid his fingertips up her sides slowly, making her body tremble. Chad was pressed up against Kelsi and the motion made him get painfully hard, a groan escaping his throat as he nuzzled his face into the crook of her neck and shoulder.

"Chad doesn't mind; do you, Chad?" Ryan asked, pressing a few light kisses to his back.

He shook his head, and with a wicked grin - one that had been missing from his face for years - Chad moved slightly so that his mouth was resting between Kelsi's breasts. He licked up to her collarbone slowly, his palms rubbing against her nipples.

"Ooh," she moaned, her body arching against him in all sorts of delicious ways.

"You're ready to come already, Kels? Fuck, Chad, you're good," Ryan murmured against his neck appreciatively.

"I am?" Chad asked in surprise.

"Yes, you definitely are," Ryan replied certainly.

Kelsi didn't seem to know what to say to Chad's question and simply kissed him heatedly, gyrating her hips to rub up against his erection. He could feel how hot and wet she was, and she was doing something with her tongue that seemed to be directly connected to his throbbing cock.

"Oh, fuck, _Kelsi_."

Chad pulled away from Kelsi's lips slowly, moving his head to kiss Ryan. As they kissed, Kelsi guided Chad's large cock into her pussy, and she couldn't stop from grinning at Chad's moan of desire. They manoeuvred so that they were all sitting up on their knees, Ryan's chest pressed up against Chad's back, and her breasts pressed against Chad's chest. Ryan rested his hand on Chad's hips, Chad covering one of his hands with his own and resting the other on Kelsi's hip. Ryan started to kiss Chad's shoulders, shoulder blades, and spine, his tongue flicking out against his skin. Without warning, Kelsi lifted her hips and slid down onto Chad's cock carefully, her hands gripping his shoulders. Chad groaned her name loudly as her walls clenched around him tightly, and he dug his fingernails into Kelsi's hip and Ryan's hand.

Ryan chuckled softly behind him, his hands caressing Chad's hips tenderly. "Told you; just hold on tight."

There were a few minutes of confusion and awkwardness, no one quite sure how to move when three people were involved, but then they seemed to work out a rhythm that worked for them. Ryan's erection was pressed up against Chad's backside, but he didn't penetrate, not wanting to do something so intimate when it hadn't been discussed. Sure, Chad had willingly kissed him, but there was a very big difference between a kiss and having someone's cock in your ass.

"Chad, move your hand," Kelsi moaned, moving his hand between them to her clit.

Realising that Kelsi might fall if Chad became overly focused on the task at hand, Ryan moved around the mattress so that he was behind Kelsi. He leaned back slightly and tilted her hips, rewarded with a strangled scream of desire as Chad hit a different spot within her.

"Fuck, Ryan, do that again," Kelsi demanded, her hands fisting in Chad's hair as he moved to suck on her breast.

"As you wish," Ryan said with a chuckle, sliding her body down onto Chad again.

The friction against his own cock made him throb and ache in response, and Ryan continued at a faster pace, his fingers digging into Kelsi's hips hard enough to bruise.

Chad wasn't sure that he could think about what was happening, even if he wanted to. When Ryan had moved Kelsi like that she'd convulsed around him tightly, and baseball stats flew through his head as he tried to gain control. He missed Ryan's warmth against his back, the light kisses against his back and shoulders as he slid in and out of Kelsi's hot pussy with long and measured strokes. His fingers were working at her clit and she was letting out a series of moans that let Chad know that he was doing everything exactly right. (Taylor had never said a thing the first time they'd had sex; the morning after, she'd given him a scientific report of everything he needed to change in order to make her climax, and refused to have sex with him again until he passed the written test.)

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, ooooohh," Kelsi moaned, her climax finally breaking and washing over her, her body held tightly between Chad and Ryan.

Chad watched as Kelsi relaxed completely, her body resting against Ryan's as she licked her lips and her chest heaved with each deep breath she took. Her face was flushed, a red blush dusted across her cheeks as she stared up at him with desire. **_Actual_** _desire; how long had it been since he'd seen that look on Taylor's face_?

"You **can** keep moving, Chad. You haven't come yet," Kelsi murmured, her fingernails trailing down his chest lightly.

"Oh... You don't mind the mess?" he asked.

"Umm, no. It can always be cleaned," she replied slowly, wondering yet again just what Taylor had done to the confident boy she'd known at high school.

Ryan leaned forward suddenly, his lips capturing Chad's and their tongues fighting for dominance. Kelsi could hear the soft sounds they were making, and felt her pussy get damp again. She squirmed slightly, and Chad let out a moan that couldn't quite be swallowed by Ryan's mouth.

"Fuck, Ryan. You're going to make me come, and you're not even kissing me," Kelsi moaned, her ass gyrating against his throbbing cock.

Ryan grinned but didn't stop kissing Chad, his hands sliding up her body to cup her breasts firmly, his thumb and forefinger rolling her nipples. Chad seemed to have the same idea, his hands joining Ryan's a few seconds later. The feel of two sets of hands teasing her breasts drove Kelsi wild and she responded in kind, riding Chad's cock with extra fervour. Another orgasm came over her soon enough, and she screamed their names as she clenched around Chad again. They'd stopped kissing now, and Chad was kissing her torso as Ryan whispered in his ear. Whatever he was saying, it was making Chad throb inside of her like crazy. A third orgasm was close on the heels of her second one, her pussy already sensitive and a deeper thrust from Chad sending her over the edge.

Ryan was sucking on Chad's fingers now, his tongue swirling around his fingertips before sucking hard once more. It was something that Chad would never have thought to be erotic, but the feel of Ryan's wet mouth around his fingers sent his mind into overdrive, the thought of that mouth wrapped around his cock, and the beloved and distracting baseball stats were forgotten as he came hard, Kelsi's fourth orgasm following him as she screamed again. Ryan seemed pleased with himself as they both called his name, his hands stroking both of them down from their orgasmic bliss.

Exhausted, Chad kissed Ryan and Kelsi chastely and laid down to sleep, his gentle snores filling the room a few moments later. Kelsi licked her lips when she saw that Ryan was still hard, pulling the condom off to take him in her mouth. Despite his mind-blowing orgasm that came almost ten minutes later, Ryan's scream of desire wasn't enough to rouse Chad from his sleep. Kelsi kissed Ryan eagerly, and he thanked her for everything softly, hugging her body to his.

As they both started to get drowsy, Kelsi and Ryan moved so that they were on either side of Chad's body. Yawning, Ryan pulled a blanket up onto the bed to cover their bodies as he and Kelsi joined Chad in a blissful sleep.

...

End of the third chapter.

Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chad has a sexual identity crisis.

Chad woke up to music, a piano playing and lovely singer joining in the notes. He sat up slowly, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he looked over to where Kelsi was sitting naked at the piano, her fingers flowing over the keys easily. _Naked_?!

 

Memories from the night before overwhelmed Chad. He didn't really know how to take the knowledge that he'd had a threesome with another guy. _Two girls was meant to be the dream, wasn't it? Then why was he responding like this to the thought of Ryan_? He'd never looked at guys before. Even before Taylor, it'd always been girls, legs, and breasts. He played on the basketball team, wouldn't Chad have realised if he'd been attracted to guys before this?

 

"Seems like we inspired her to finish the song. You like it?" Ryan asked from behind him with a grin, glancing at the goosebumps on his arms and his semi-hard cock tenting the blanket.

 

"We inspired her?" Chad echoed, feeling a little stupid, and uncomfortable now that he was awake and thinking of everything in the cold light of day.

 

"After five orgasms like that, anyone would be inspired," he replied with a soft snicker.

 

Ryan pressed a soft kiss to Chad's shoulder. Chad tried not to pull away, but there must have been something in his expression because Ryan's face fell slightly. Then he was smiling again and got out of the bed quickly, pulling on a fluffy navy bathrobe.

 

"I'm going to go cook up a feast for breakfast. Stay here with Kels?" Ryan asked Chad.

 

He nodded quickly, keeping the blanket over his body firmly. Ryan gave a sad little smile and left down the stairs after pressing a kiss to the back of Kelsi's head.

 

Chad found his boxers and pulled them on quickly, his shirt and pants following. His socks and shoes took a while longer to find, but Chad was still dressed and ready to escape in a matter of minutes. Kelsi looked preoccupied by the piano and her song, and Chad knew that if he left now, she probably wouldn't notice his absence. He took a step towards the stairs, intent on doing exactly that, but then Kelsi stopped playing abruptly and started from the beginning again. The goosebumps that he'd worked so hard to get rid of the day before appeared once more, his arms and legs covered in a matter of seconds.

 

The song seemed to soothe and lift him up all at once, and Chad couldn't help but stop mid-step. As if pulled to her by the notes alone, Chad made his way over to the stage and sat down quietly, watching as she played serenely. He vaguely noticed that Kelsi's eyes were closed at places, the music already imprinted in her head and hands.

 

The song was repeated for what could have been hours, and then Ryan was back upstairs announcing that breakfast was ready. Kelsi stopped playing softly, her fingers resting against the keys, and she turned to smile at Chad.

 

"Morning, Chad," she said, moving to kiss his cheek gently. "Hand me my robe?" Kelsi asked, glancing to the silk robe he had inadvertently sat on.

 

Chad stood up quickly, embarrassed that he hadn't even noticed the robe, and trying not to think of her kissing him. "Sorry."

 

"Nothing to apologise about; I didn't need it," she said with a grin, slipping the robe on and tying it up loosely. "Coming?" Kelsi asked, looking over her shoulder when she reached the stairs.

 

Nodding wordlessly, Chad hurried to follow her downstairs for breakfast. Kelsi didn't go to the kitchen as he thought she would, but instead headed to the apartment's entrance where the dining room was. The dining table filled with bacon, eggs, toast, fried tomatoes, mushrooms, sausages, and the smell was making Chad's mouth water.

 

"You always cook this much for breakfast?" he asked in surprise.

 

"Not exactly. I just thought everyone might be really hungry," Ryan said, pulling out Kelsi's chair for her as she moved forward.

 

"Thanks, Ryan. Don't worry, if we don't eat it, Ryan'll think of something to do with the leftovers," Kelsi assured Chad, smiling.

 

He gave a brief nod in return and sat down at the head of the table, his stomach gurgling in anticipation. Ryan sat at the other end of the table, ignoring Kelsi's look of confusion. She wondered why Ryan wasn't sitting in his usual spot across from her - the one next to Chad, in fact - then glanced to Chad, who was sitting up ram-rod straight in his chair and looking decidedly uncomfortable, and realised why.

 

"So, did you have a good sleep last night, Chad?" Kelsi asked, taking a piece of toast and some mushrooms.

 

"I... Yeah, I did, actually," he replied, surprised at the realisation.

 

It had been a while since he'd slept so well, especially after sex. Taylor had hated that he fell asleep so soon after orgasming, and Chad often tried to force himself to stay awake. Even after he fell asleep, he fought his way to consciousness every few minutes to try and talk with Taylor as she wanted. It was something that had been highlighted and underlined in the report she'd given to him after their first sexual time together, and regularly brought up in their arguments, Taylor reiterating how he obviously didn't care about her if he fell asleep so soon after having an orgasm.

 

"How about you?" Chad asked, taking a drink of his orange juice.

 

"I slept fantastically. Being fucked like that really helped inspire me with my song," Kelsi added calmly, grinning slightly when Chad spluttered on his juice.

 

Chad kept his gaze squarely on his plate and didn't say anything for the rest of the meal. He finished eating his fill, thanked them both for the accommodation and food, and asked very politely if one of them would be able to drive him to the bar he'd left his car at so he could go back to Boston. Ryan had been watching Chad carefully as he ate his own breakfast, and decided not to push the man by being the one to drive him back. Kelsi seemed to understand without him needing to explain anything, and offered to drive Chad as soon as she finished getting dressed. With that sorted, she set her plate aside and headed upstairs.

 

"I'm sorry about you and Taylor, Chad. I hope everything works out for the best, and you'll come back sometime," Ryan said, his words and tone soft. "Thanks for letting me go to the Knicks game with you," he added, grinning a bit.

 

Chad nodded quickly. "It was fun; more fun than I would've had with Taylor, probably," he muttered.

 

"I'm glad it was," Ryan said, smiling now.

 

"Okay, I'm ready!" Kelsi announced, adjusting her hat and splaying her arms to display her jeans, shirt, and vest outfit.

 

"You look great, Kels. Drive safe, both of you," Ryan said, kissing Kelsi's cheek and offering his hand to Chad.

 

Chad looked wary, but shook his hand briefly and let go as quickly as he could. Ryan forced himself to smile, and with a nod he went upstairs to get dressed too. Kelsi and Chad left the apartment, heading down to the undercover parking lot beneath the building.

 

...

 

The drive to the bar was a quiet one, despite the low noise of the radio. Kelsi absentmindedly tapped along to a few notes here and there, but Chad didn't seem to hear anything. Pulling into the parking lot, Kelsi turned the car off and nodded to Chad's car sitting near the entrance.

 

"Thanks again for... for everything," Chad said.

 

"No problem. I had a really good time, even before the sex," Kelsi said with a slight grin.

 

He nodded slightly, his hand clutching the door handle at the thought.

 

"Hey, if I actually get my songs included in the play, will you come to the opening night?" she asked when he was already halfway out of the car.

 

"Uh, sure," Chad replied with a shrug.

 

"Great, I'll let you know how it goes," Kelsi said, smiling brightly. "I don't want to let another three years pass before we talk to each other again, Chad," she said, looking a little sad.

 

"Me either," he admitted softly, getting out of the car completely. "Thanks for driving me here, Kelsi."

 

"You're welcome. Drive safe," Kelsi said sternly.

 

"Yes, Mistress Kelsi," Chad said, the words out before he truly thought about them. He went red, stepping back from the car quickly, but couldn't stop a grin from forming.

 

Kelsi just laughed and waved at him, waiting until he was in the car and driving out of the parking lot before leaving again. Glancing in her rear view mirror, Kelsi watched until Chad's car disappeared from view completely. She sighed softly and headed home, hoping that Ryan would be all right. Kelsi could tell that he'd really liked Chad, and to be honest, so had she. She knew that it was silly to think he'd stay with them, but for a foolish moment when she'd woken up, both she and Ryan wrapped around Chad lovingly, Kelsi had given the idea a lot more thought than she probably should have.

 

Ryan and Chad would do all of the sports stuff together, they'd try to get him to watch a musical and actually enjoy it, Chad would retaliate with action movies, Ryan might have better luck teaching Chad how to cook than he had with her, she could play her songs for them... But it was all a stupid thought anyway. Kelsi quickly swiped at the tears that had started to trail down her cheeks, and concentrated on driving once more.

 

Checking a text from Ryan made her remember that he'd left the car at the Knicks game the night before. Of course, since Ryan and Chad had both been a little tispy, she and Ryan had to find the car first. _That was going to be fun_...

 

...

 

The drive back to Boston was a blur, and on some level, Chad was surprised that he even made it back at all without getting in a car accident. He had thought about Taylor a lot, and couldn't help but compare everything that he'd been through with Kelsi and Ryan to his relationship spent with her. Taylor had been mean, he knew that now, but for years, she had been all that he'd known. Chad had loved her, he'd changed himself for her, and he'd ruined his friendships with everyone who ever cared about for her.

 

Where Taylor had put him down and criticised him, Kelsi and Ryan had encouraged him; Taylor had yelled, Kelsi and Ryan had kissed him and laughed; Taylor had told him over and again how he wasn't smart enough, that he was lucky to have her to help him, but Kelsi and Ryan had actually listened to him (even about sports!) and asked his opinion. Taylor had been destructive love - if that's even what it could be called - whereas Kelsi and Ryan had just been love. And that was just in _two days_.

 

Chad had given Ryan the cold shoulder, run out on them as soon as he could, and still, Ryan had offered his hand to shake goodbye, and Kelsi had driven him to the bar. She could've left him to get a cab, even though he didn't really remember where he'd even left his car in the first place, but she hadn't. All of this after he hadn't talked to her in _three fucking years_. _Would anyone else have done the same for him_? Chad wondered, shaking his head. They might've once, but he doubted that they would anymore, not with the way things had ended between them all.

 

Sighing, Chad turned off the ignition, grabbed his duffel bag, basketball, and trading card box from the boot of his car and headed up to the college dorm. He and his roommate had an agreement: if Chad didn't bring Taylor to their room ever again, then Art wouldn't tell the college admin that Chad was spending most of his time off campus. If the admin found out that he wasn't using the room, they'd kick him out and give the room to someone who was on the on-campus dorm waiting list instead.

 

Knocking on the dorm door, Chad was glad to see that Art had kept his end of the bargain. Sure, his half of the room was covered in posters of various metal bands, but he still had a bed and a place to put his things. Art was alone, thankfully, and on seeing that his roommate had returned for good (again), he made a few perfunctory inquiries about the bruise on Chad's forehead and the bandaids on his fingers. When he realised that Chad was finally and truly Taylor-free, and congratulated him surprisingly warmly on getting rid of the she-devil.

 

"Uh, thanks, Art. Didn't know you cared," Chad said, setting his things down.

 

"I don't, usually. Whoever you screw is your own business, but that Taylor is fucking evil," Art muttered.

 

"Right... Thanks."

 

"No problem. If you ever need to perform an exorcism, I know people," he offered, clapping him on the back, and promptly going back to his music and studies.

 

Shaking his head, Chad put his clothes away, tucked the trading card box under his pillow, grabbed the basketball and headed down to the gym's court for the first time in weeks. He needed to clear his head, and shooting hoops always seemed to help.

 

It was late in the evening before Chad finally stopped his self-imposed torture, sweat making his shirt clinging to his body. He looked around and saw a few guys down the other end of the court. Curious, Chad watched them, absentmindedly bouncing the ball back and forth between his hands. The guys were fairly good looking, but he eventually conceded that they didn't stir the same response that Ryan did, had, whatever. Even thinking about Ryan now made Chad's heart race a little, thinking about the light kisses he pressed against his back and spine, his mouth hot against his skin.

 

Grabbing hold of the ball abruptly, Chad went to the outside J on his side of the court (getting a shot from here meant three-points if he was actually playing), and turned to face the hoop.

 

"Make the shot, admit that last night actually happened. Miss the shot, deny everything," he muttered, bringing the ball up.

 

Chad took a deep breath, his eyes glancing to the bandaids that Kelsi had put on his fingers. She hadn't berated him, or told him that he was stupid for reacting like that to the sight of blood, she'd just fixed him up and kept him calm. (In that moment, Chad knew that even if the ball didn't go through the hoop, he'd still admit that it had happened.)

 

Chad took the shot, a pleased grin on his face when the ball went right through the hoop without even touching the rim. _Damn, he was good_.

 

...

 

"You've got ten seconds to get out of that bathroom, Ryan, or I'm going to drag you out of there myself!" Kelsi said, banging on the door yet again.

 

"I'd like to see you try," Ryan called back, unable to keep from smiling at the thought of Kelsi, five foot four, pulling him anywhere.

 

She made a sound of frustration and stalked away loudly. Ryan sighed in relief and returned to his former activity of getting very drunk while sitting in the empty bathtub. He'd had one drink on the bed, decided that it reminded him of Chad too much, and as his armchair faced the bed, the bathroom had been the next logical choice. Okay, not quite logical, but Ryan refused to get drunk near his beloved clothes. He still had standards. There was a scratching sound at the door and he frowned, wondering what on Earth Kelsi was doing now.

 

Kelsi worked at the screws in the doors carefully. She was fairly pleased that she'd found the screwdriver without needing to ask Ryan where it was, and she was determined to get into the bathroom, no matter what.

 

The scratching continued, but Kelsi hadn't said a word. Ryan started to worry, thinking that maybe rodents had taken up in the walls.

 

"Kels? What are you doing?" Ryan asked warily.

 

"I told you to get out of the bathroom, Ryan. You refuse to get out, so I'm getting in," she replied shortly, still working at the screws.

 

He frowned and got out of the tub, his limbs creaking in protest. Ryan unlocked the door and opened it just as Kelsi finished unscrewing the final screw. Consequently, Ryan managed to pull the whole door out of the doorway, and he hurried to hold it up before it flattened either of them.

 

"Seriously, Kels, was that really necessary?!" he asked, placing the door against the shower stall carefully.

 

"Yes, it really was. I wasn't going to let you drink yourself blind in a bathroom, Ryan," she replied sternly, pulling him out of there immediately.

 

"Oh, come on. Let me get the bottle," Ryan protested, surprised when he couldn't get out of Kelsi's firm grip.

 

"No, you're going to bed," she replied.

 

"I don't want to go to sleep," he muttered, knowing all too well that the sheets still smelled like sex and Chad.

 

"Who said anything about sleeping?" Kelsi asked with a wicked grin. "Come on, screwing me senseless might be very cathartic for you."

 

"Might be? Well, if _might be_ is all you've got to offer..." he trailed off, trying not to grin too much.

 

"Let me rephrase... Fucking me will make both of us feel better, then we'll watch _Singin' in the rain_ and sing loud enough to wake the neighbours."

 

"Make it a different musical, and you've got a deal," Ryan said, grinning outright now.

 

"Hmm, the three of them singing together would be a pretty big reminder about it all. Fine, what about _West Side Story_? 

 

"No, thanks. We could watch whatever _Godzilla_ movie you didn't watch," he offered.

 

"All right. But first, clothes off and get on the bed," Kelsi said, grinning.

 

"Yes, Mistress Kelsi," Ryan said with a mocking salute, kissing her eagerly before stepping back to follow her instructions.

 

...

 

"And that's why it's stupid to let a gorilla and whale mate," Kelsi muttered, rolling her eyes as the movie finished.

 

"Don't give me that mental image, Kels," Ryan said, shuddering. "Remind me not to live in Tokyo?"

 

"Don't live in Tokyo. Especially without me," she said, taking Ryan's hand and helping him stand up.

 

"Of course not. It wouldn't be any fun without you," he said, pressing a kiss to the back of her hand.

 

Kelsi just nodded, leading him upstairs to their bed. Ryan began undressing, glancing to his girlfriend when he realised that she was distracted. Usually after watching _Godzilla_ , Kelsi spent a good fifteen minutes imitating the actors and quoting her favourite lines in a falsetto tone, but she was quiet right now. He wondered if she was thinking about Chad, or even him?

 

"What are you thinking about, Kels?" Ryan asked, getting into the bed and trying to ignore the fact that it still smelled like Chad.

 

"Hmm?" she asked distractedly, shucking her pants off.

 

"What are you thinking about?" he repeated, frowning.

 

"Oh. It's stupid, don't worry," Kelsi added quickly, flushing slightly.

 

"Why not? Tell me? Please?" Ryan asked, intrigued now.

 

Kelsi shook her head firmly, sliding into the bed beside him. Ryan wrapped an arm around her shoulders, his fingertips tracing light circles.

 

"Oh, come on, it can't be that bad. Please tell me, Kels," he begged, his tongue flicking against her earlobe.

 

"Ohh, don't, Ryan. I'm still sore from our earlier session," Kelsi said tiredly.

 

"Just tell me then."

 

She sighed, shaking her head. "I was just trying to remember when we bought a bucket."

 

"What?" Ryan asked in surprise, pulling away to look at her.

 

"The bucket in the laundry. I don't remember buying it, and I don't remember it coming over with your things when we moved in together," Kelsi said, sounding embarrassed.

 

Ryan chuckled against her neck. "I bought that when you were sick. You had a crappy old ice cream container to throw up in, and I didn't like the idea of carrying something so flimsy if you actually were sick."

 

"I seriously don't remember that," Kelsi muttered, shaking her head.

 

"With the fever you had, I'm not surprised," Ryan replied, shrugging.

 

He stroked a ticklish spot, Kelsi laughing and squirming against him. Ryan grinned, pressing a kiss to her lips as he laid down to sleep with Kelsi in his arms. She sighed contentedly, kissing him gently before snuggling down into his embrace, her eyes closing soon after. Ryan smiled at the sight, brushing a stray hair out of Kelsi's face. He kept his eyes on her as he fell asleep too, trying not to think of the way they'd slept with Chad only the night before.

 

...

 

End of the fourth chapter.

 

Thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kelsi and Ryan both have auditions, Chad receives a phone call from Taylor.

Kelsi glanced at her phone, smiling at the two received text messages. Both Ryan and Chad had text, wishing her luck with the Julliard panel for the musical. She'd finally finished the songs she wanted to present to them, and was decidedly nervous about it all. Just because her songs for _The King's Fool_ had been well received, it didn't mean she would automatically get her songs included in this play too.

 

Kelsi had been surprised to hear from Chad a few days after he'd left New York, but was pleased that he'd meant what he'd said about not wanting three years to pass before they spoke again. There'd been a few awkward silences during the phone calls, but they passed soon enough, and Chad was even talking with Ryan. Her boyfriend came away from those phone calls with bright eyes and a wicked smile, no matter if they'd just been talking sports for the whole time. It was a side of Ryan that Kelsi hadn't really seen before; she knew he liked sports, sure, but he'd never had someone to talk with about that love before.

 

Her name was called, and Kelsi tucked her phone away in her pocket to go into the room where the panel was waiting. Her music sheets were prepared in a folder, a copy for each of the panel members to read over. She would then have to perform each of the songs after a quick explanation as to why she thought it fit in with the play. From there, the panel would spend the rest of the week deciding on which songs to include. It was a long and arduous process, but it's the way Broadway stars were made. Kelsi was just glad that she wasn't an actor and producer like Ryan; his ordeals always seemed much worse than hers.

 

"Good morning, Miss Nielsen. Are you ready?" the middle panellist asked.

 

"Yes, sir, I am," she replied firmly, stepping forward to hand out the copied music sheets.

 

"Very well, then you may begin."

 

Kelsi took a step back and began to explain the first song. She kept her stance relaxed, but her hands stayed behind her back as she stood there, trying to hide the nervous trembling. She knew that the moment she sat in front of the piano the nerves would disappear, but until then, Kelsi still had this to get through.

 

...

 

Ryan paced the studio nervously. Kelsi had text him to let him know that she'd finished with the panel and would be home soon, but she'd left out what their response had been. _Had the panel of judges loved the songs, as he and Chad did? Or did they hate them completely and kick Kelsi out of Julliard? Was that even possible_?

 

The front door opened and he ran downstairs on hearing the door close. Kelsi was taking her scarf off and hanging it on the hook on the back of the door when he hugged her, scaring the hell out of her at the same time.

 

"Ryan! Geez, warn me next time!" she admonished, turning in his embrace.

 

He just smiled at her and took her hat off. "Well? What did they say?"

 

"They're going to let me know by the end of the week, you know that. I don't know any more than any of the other applicants do," Kelsi said.

 

"Hmm, but you usually judge their responses spot on. What did you think?"

 

Kelsi seemed to deflate a little, and she snatched her hat back, stepping out of his embrace. "I don't know. They seemed to like the first three, but from there on it didn't seem like they were particularly interested."

 

"So you're thinking a collaboration with you and someone else's songs?"

 

"Maybe. Hopefully. I'd like to get some songs in this one, it's going to be big, I just know it," she said, sighing.

 

"If you're involved, I'm sure it will be," Ryan assured her, pressing a kiss to her lips. "Come on, we'll order Chinese and heckle the TV. It'll make you feel better," he cajoled.

 

"All right. I'm going to have a shower and get in my flannels. Order my usual for me?"

 

"Okay. Want me to get Johnny to pick up a tub of ice cream too?" Ryan offered, heading to the phone in the kitchen.

 

"Nah, we've still got some left in the freezer."

 

"Don't forget to call Chad," Ryan called to Kelsi.

 

"Remind me again when I come back?"

 

"All right. See you in ten," he said with a grin, dialling the number for the Chinese takeaway store.

 

...

 

Chad sprinted up and down the court, trying to keep his breathing even as he ran. His coach seemed surprised that he had arrived early to the training session, or even at all, and Chad couldn't really blame him. It was the first session he'd been early for in almost five months, since he and Taylor had gotten back together the last time. Sighing, he put on an extra burst of speed and concentrated on running rather than his thoughts.

 

Chad continued with his sprints for almost ten minutes straight, and then an all too familiar sound brought him in to the present forcibly. Taylor was in the gym. He glanced up just in time to see her laughing at something that one of the footballers had said, her hand resting on the guy's arm. Taylor had done something similar to Chad before, laughing and touching a guy in a store, trying to make Chad jealous to get him to come back to her. It usually worked too, and Chad would be by her side in a matter of seconds, glaring at the often innocent guy angrily. This time, however, Chad only felt pity for the guy that she'd chosen. He kept right on running, and Taylor let out a harpy-like screech when she realised that he'd ignored her. Her noise had her thrown out by the coach, who'd wanted to do something similar ever since Taylor started turning up during their training sessions, and she stomped out, now ignoring the confused footballer.

 

"Nice one, Danforth! Keep on sprinting!" the coach added when a few team members started to slow down.

 

Chad laughed and continued running. He wondered if the panel had liked Kelsi's songs for the musical.

 

...

 

Friday was a nervous day in the Nielsen-Evans apartment. Kelsi was still waiting on the panel's decision for the songs of the musical, and Ryan had auditioned for the lead of a new show on Broadway. As Friday was a free day from studies for both of them, both Kelsi and Ryan were at home that day, and managed to send their phones flat by checking them so often. There was a panic as they tried to find their phone chargers in the kitchen drawers, scrambling to plug them in before someone rang.

 

Lunch passed without any news, and it was nearing on 5pm when Ryan's phone rang. He was halfway through his call when Kelsi's started ringing and she hurried to answer, going down to the dining room so she wouldn't interrupt Ryan's news. Ryan thanked the casting caller for letting him know about the offer, hung up from the call, and headed down the hallway to see how Kelsi was doing.

 

She hung up the phone just as he entered the dining room, and Ryan tried to gauge if the news had been good or bad just by the expression on her face. Kelsi watched him, looking amused at Ryan's intense expression.

 

"You could just ask instead of trying to read my mind, you know," she said, grinning at him.

 

"But how am I ever going to master the art of telepathy if I don't practice?" Ryan asked with a chuckle. "So, what did they say?"

 

"They loved my songs and want to include them in the play," Kelsi said, letting out an excited squeal and standing to hug him tightly. She kissed him a few times, then pulled away with a slight frown. "How'd your phone call go?"

 

"Lead actor in the play, and they've agreed to look at my choreography," Ryan said, grinning.

 

"Congratulations!" she said, hugging and kissing him again. "You never did tell me what play you auditioned for," Kelsi said as they pulled away once more.

 

"It's the same one you applied for. We're going to be working together again," Ryan said with a smile.

 

Kelsi pulled away from him completely, stepping back as she stared at him. "I thought you hated working with me last time?"

 

"What on Earth gave you that idea?" he asked incredulously.

 

"The fact that you didn't want to have sex with me _once_ during the three-month production. You went out of your way to avoid me, and we barely saw each other!"

 

"Are you kidding me? I only avoided you because I knew that if I got too close, I'd end up fucking you right into the Julliard stage. Why do you think the week after it ended, I got the stage installed in the studio?"

 

Kelsi blushed slightly at the memory of just how many times Ryan had taken her on their stage after installing it that month. He'd been insatiable, and there'd been days when she hadn't even had the energy to get up to move to their bed, sleeping cocooned in a mess of blankets instead.

 

"Okay, I didn't think of it like that... But why didn't you just tell me that, instead of letting me think that you hated working with me?"

 

"I had no idea that you thought that, Kels. I told you, I haven't mastered the art of telepathy yet," he added with a grin.

 

"Fine. This time, I'll tell you when you're being a jerk and avoiding me."

 

"And this time I'll be able to play out my fantasies on our very own stage," Ryan said, his breath hot against her neck.

 

"What about my fantasies?" Kelsi asked, her body trembling against his.

 

"Oh, definitely. In fact, if you'd be so kind as to detail one of your fantasies right now, I think I can be more than obliging," he murmured, pressing his lips against her neck and sucking.

 

"We have to ring Chad first. We promised him, remember?"

 

"Mmm, I remember. I kind of wish he was here to celebrate with us," Ryan admitted.

 

"So do I," Kelsi agreed quietly, kissing Ryan gently.

 

She dialled Chad's number, frowning when it diverted straight to his message bank. Leaving a message to tell him the news, Kelsi hung up from the call and returned her attention to Ryan.

 

"I want you naked in your director's chair, condom on, and on the stage in three minutes," Kelsi instructed.

 

"Work, work, work. That's all I ever do," Ryan said with a laugh, playfully smacking her behind before going upstairs.

 

Kelsi looked to her phone briefly, hoping that Chad was all right. He said he'd wait for their call and that he rarely had anyone ring him anymore so he'd pick up immediately. She rang again, but the call diverted straight to message bank again. Sighing, Kelsi hung up before she had to leave another message. _She'd try again later that night_ , she promised herself.

 

Heading upstairs, Kelsi grinned at the sight of Ryan sitting buck naked in his director's chair, his megaphone resting between his legs and a simple black hat on his head.

 

"So, am I auditioning for a part, Director Nielsen? Or am I the one judging you?" Ryan asked with a grin.

 

"Neither, actually. We're both lowly actors who get off on the fact that we're about to fuck on the director's chair," she replied, starting to strip as she walked over to the stage.

 

"Remind me to always get a protective sheet on my chair if I ever get a real director's chair," Ryan said, laughing as he pulled Kelsi up onto his lap.

 

"All right. So what's one of your fantasies?" she murmured, stroking him gently as she kissed his jaw line slowly.

 

"Hmm, you running up on the stage mid-scene, sucking me off in front of everyone, and us getting a standing ovation."

 

"With the way I make you scream, I'd hope we'd get a standing ovation," Kelsi said with a chuckle, her breasts rubbing up against his chest.

 

"Oh, of course... Then there's the fantasy where I fuck you on top of the piano," Ryan said, grinning as his hands squeezed her breasts, making her moan.

 

"Not the poor piano," she replied breathlessly, grinding down against his erection.

 

"Oh yes," he murmured, his teeth nipping at her lip as he raised his hips. "We'd make such beautiful music together," Ryan murmured.

 

Kelsi guided his cock inside her, sliding down until he was sheathed inside her completely. She grinned at the low moan he gave and kissed her way down his neck to bite his shoulder gently.

 

"Of course, lately I've been thinking of you and Chad. Me walking in on you two fucking and joining in with you, my hands on your gorgeous breasts and my mouth on his... One day he might even let me fuck him," Ryan said with a grin.

 

"Ooh. I want to watch you go down on him," Kelsi moaned, a blush spreading across her chest. "Can you imagine having his cock inside of your mouth?"

 

Ryan lifted his hips sharply, rewarded with another moan of pleasure. "I already have imagined it," he murmured.

 

Kelsi grinned against his lips and started to move faster, her legs wrapping around his waist. Ryan held onto her hips and kissed her as he increased his tempo to match her speed.

 

Lying nearby on the stage was Kelsi's phone, dropped carelessly on top of her clothes. In her haste to undress, Kelsi had accidentally redialled Chad's number...

 

...

 

Chad's phone rang loudly, and he answered it with a cheerful greeting, thinking that Kelsi or Ryan had called to let him know if the panel had accepted Kelsi's songs. He hadn't expected to hear Taylor's voice on the other end of the phone.

 

"Well, you certainly sound happy," Taylor bit out, and Chad could almost see her standing before him with her hand on her hip as she glared at him angrily.

 

"Hello Taylor."

 

"That's all you've got to say to me after the way you blew me off?" Taylor asked, starting on one of her usual tirades.

 

Chad cringed slightly, even as some part of his mind told him to stop wussing out over a phone call and to _stand his ground_. He sat up a little straighter at that.

 

" _You're_ the one that broke up with _me_ , Taylor," Chad said, his voice trembling slightly at the fact that he'd cut her off mid-sentence. " _You're_ the one that said we were over and you never wanted to see me again. You're the one who came to the gym in the middle of training to try and make me jealous. But guess what? Your plan didn't work."

 

"How dare you talk to me that way! I gave you everything, Chad Danforth! Who's the one that taught you how to _actually_ converse at a dinner party? Who's the one that introduced you to the Dean of the University? I did that, Chad, and now... Now you're throwing it back in my face like this! You are an ungrateful _bastard_!"

 

Chad actually smiled slightly at her words. "I hope you're not trying to win me back with a speech like that, Taylor. You know what? For once, you were actually right. We are so over. In fact, if I can help it, I never want to see you again for the rest of my life. Goodbye, Taylor."

 

He hung up the phone quickly, his hands trembling. He'd sounded confident, and hadn't even fucked up what he wanted to say, but inside Chad was trembling with a bundle of nerves.

 

"Hey, man. You okay?" Art asked, frowning at him.

 

Chad let out a long breath and shook his hands out before looking up at his roommate. He gave him a grin and nodded confidently. "Yeah, for the first time in years, I really am."

 

"Good to know. For a second there, I thought you were going to cave in to the she-devil. I really didn't want to get this placed exorcised again," Art muttered.

 

"Again?" Chad asked, frowning.

 

"Yeah. Don't remove the posters on your wall, they're covering the first two attempts."

 

"What?!" Chad stood up on his bed and touched one of the metal posters with a frown.

 

"Seriously, man, I mean it. Don't ever take the posters off," Art said, standing and leaving the room quickly.

 

Shaking his head, Chad sat back down without removing the posters. Art might be a little on the eccentric side, but he had been a good friend. They liked different kinds of music, but Art was a fan of baseball, which made him all right in Chad's books. Taylor had never thought of Art as someone that could be friends with Chad, luckily, or else his side of the room might've had more than just a few posters - and an apparent exorcism etched in the walls - when he'd returned.

 

There was a buzzing sound from the end of the bed, and still thinking of Taylor, Chad looked at his phone warily. He had three missed calls from Kelsi, and it looked like she'd left him two messages too. Grinning, he dialled the number and listened to the first message.

 

"All right, Kelsi and Ryan!" Chad said, giving a celebratory fist pump on hearing their news about the play.

 

Then the second message began to play. At first, Chad wondered if they'd been acting out something from the play, but then he recognised the tone in Kelsi's voice, and the sounds of kissing and skin on skin filtered through the small speaker on his phone. Chad practically glued his ear to the phone, trying to hear more. He heard own his name a few times, and the way they were talking about him made him get horny. Chad adjusted his pants, double-checked that the door was locked, and then returned to his bed. The message cut out as Kelsi screamed her first orgasm, and Chad hurried to play the message again, undoing his pants to stroke his hardening cock slowly. Hearing Ryan's fantasy about walking in on Chad and Kelsi fucking only to join in with them made Chad moan aloud, his hand stroking faster as he imagined it as well.

 

 _Ryan would be coming back from a late night stage thing, and Kelsi would've been teasing him all night long until he could no longer resist the need to take her then and there. He'd be thrusting inside of her just as Ryan walked in on them, but instead of being angry he'd just walk over calmly and start undressing. He'd kiss him and caress Kelsi as he continued to fuck her, and she'd come around his cock as Ryan teased her breasts relentlessly. They'd kiss and then Ryan would do those little hot kisses on his back as he pressed his cock against his ass, his hands stroking his hips_...

 

Art knocked at the door, his attempts to get inside failing. Chad softly groaned in annoyance at being interrupted just when he was getting into the swing of things. Tucking his cock back into his pants, Chad slipped his phone into his pocket, unlocked the door and went to wash his hands.

 

...

 

"Um, Kels? Remember that sexual fantasy we acted out last night?" Ryan asked, looking at her from his place on the bed.

 

"Not likely to forget it any time soon," Kelsi replied a little smugly, grinning over her shoulder from the piano.

 

"Yeah, neither's Chad."

 

"What?" she asked, stopping playing to turn on the seat and look at Ryan in confusion.

 

He grinned a little at the sight of her naked form; he loved how she couldn't seem to pause her inspiration long enough to put clothes on.

 

"It seems that we left a really ... uh, descriptive message on Chad's phone last night," Ryan said, looking to his phone screen to read Chad's message. " _Hi Ryan and Kelsi. Congrats on getting your songs and lead in the play. Next time you decide to celebrate by fucking on your stage and calling me, let me know in advance so I can get rid of my roommate to join in properly. P.S. I agree with Ryan about fucking Kelsi on the piano_."

 

"Holy fuck. Give that to me," Kelsi muttered, scrambling off the seat to join him on the bed and take the phone off her boyfriend. "Ooh, he really did write that. I thought you were just trying to get me horny again."

 

Ryan grinned and kissed her soundly. "I already can't wait for opening night."

 

"That's _ages_ away," Kelsi said with a slight pout. "Why can't we invite him up for a proper date before then? Or we could go down to Boston for a few days," she suggested.

 

"I'll see what I can organise. Now, what do you want for breakfast?" he asked, his tongue flicking out against her neck.

 

"Waffles and fruit. And whipped cream. But that's not for the food," Kelsi replied, turning to kiss him, her lips curved into a grin.

 

Ryan chuckled against her lips, his hands sliding down her sides softly. "Of course, Mistress Kelsi."

 

She rolled her eyes at him, pressed another kiss to his lips and slipped out of bed. "Come on, I really want waffles now."

 

Ryan grinned and followed Kelsi immediately, snatching up her robe on his way downstairs.

 

 

...

 

End of the fifth chapter.


	6. Chapter 6

Chad couldn't stop his foot from tapping nervously as he waited in the restaurant. Ryan and Kelsi had organised to meet him for an actual _date_ in Boston, and he'd arrived a full half hour early, certain that he'd be late.

 

He'd changed outfits three times until Art had rolled his eyes and threatened to physically kick him out of their dorm room if he didn't leave himself. Chad told him that Ryan and Kelsi had a huge freaking _wall_ of clothes, Ryan designed clothes in his spare time, and he couldn't show up in just _anything_. Art didn't seem to care; Chad already had a shirt and pants on, and apart from shoes, that was all he needed. _So long as he didn't turn up naked, he wouldn't be thrown out of the restaurant_ , Art had pointed out helpfully. Chad agreed reluctantly, but still took a minute to change into his black Italian shoes before Art physically pushed him out of the door.

 

Ten minutes later, Kelsi and Ryan arrived. The waiter showed them over, Chad standing to greet them with a smile.

 

"Hey, how've you both been?" Chad asked as Ryan pulled a chair out for Kelsi.

 

"Not bad. The drive down was interesting, to say the least," Kelsi said, grinning.

 

"Interesting in what way?" Chad asked, sitting down once more.

 

"Ryan decided to change outfits five times before he was happy, and then he was convinced we were running late and would catch all of the peak hour traffic. Peak hour on a _Saturday_ ," she said, rolling her eyes. "If any cops tried to pull us over, I swear Ryan would've just challenged them to a race to get here on time."

 

"Please, I wouldn't have done that. I would've just thrown my licence and registration out the window for them, and then kept on driving. Anyway, if I hadn't changed outfits five times, then I wouldn't look this fantastic," Ryan pointed out, grinning as he adjusted his hat briefly.

 

Black pants, navy blue shirt, black vest and tie, along with a hat to match his shirt, Chad had to admit that Ryan certainly had style. He was in a pair of pants and a simple green button down, and felt severely underdressed.

 

"I'm sure Chad didn't need to get dressed that many times, and he looks great," Kelsi said, grinning.

 

"Really?" he asked in surprise, tugging on his sleeve.

 

"I like it," Ryan said with a wink, and Chad's heart skipped a beat, his cheeks reddening.

 

"So how many times did you get changed, Kelsi?" he asked quickly.

 

"Twice. But that's only because I couldn't find the right heels to match my first outfit. I swear we've got a troll in our wardrobe that hides all of my shoes," she groused.

 

"Would you like any drinks to start?" the waiter asked, standing nearby.

 

They ordered drinks and went quiet as they looked to the menus. After a minute or two of reading, Ryan looked to Kelsi.

 

"If I get steak with mushroom sauce, will you get chicken fettuccine? I'll swap mushrooms for chicken," he offered.

 

"I was thinking the vegetarian lasagne... But you cook that for me at home."

 

"If you order it now, we don't have to clean up," Ryan said with a grin.

 

"Hmm, tempting. What are you ordering, Chad?" Kelsi asked, looking at him with a brilliant smile.

 

"Burger and chips, probably," he replied, shrugging.

 

"Chicken, beef, pork? And a side order of salad or vegetables?" Ryan asked curiously.

 

"Beef. I don't care about the side, I don't usually eat salad or vegetables with my burger if I can help it."

 

"I'll eat the salad if you get that," Kelsi offered. "You can have more chips from my order. I'm getting the grilled chicken with a side salad. What are you ordering, Ryan?"

 

"The steak looks good. I'll swap the other half of your chips for my mushroom sauce."

 

"Oh, all right. But I'm keeping a couple of chips."

 

"Of course; you'll just steal them from my plate anyway," Ryan said with a grin.

 

"You really don't mind eating all of my salad for a few measly chips?" Chad asked Kelsi in surprise.

 

"No, I don't mind. It's not like it's a Herculean task or something," she said, laughing softly at his expression.

 

The waiter arrived with their drinks and they placed their orders, deciding to skip the entrées entirely.

 

"They got my drink order wrong," Ryan said with a sigh. "I asked for a lemon and bitter, and they've put lime in it."

 

"I'll go fix it," Chad offered, already standing and leaving before Ryan could refuse.

 

"Thanks," Ryan called after him.

 

"Oh my god," Kelsi said in a horrified voice, making Ryan look to her in concern.

 

If it wasn't for the sudden pale pallor of her skin and the expression of horror, Ryan might have been amused at her widened eyes and raised eyebrows. Kelsi was looking to the foyer of the restaurant and he followed her gaze, frowning slightly. He hadn't met many of her friends from high school, but they'd both seen each other's yearbooks and Ryan was fairly sure that that was Taylor McKessie waving over at them. She sidestepped around the waiter, ignoring his attempt to get her back to the foyer, and walked straight over to their table with a broad smile.

 

"Hi, Chad must have told me the wrong time for our double date. I'm Taylor, his girlfriend," Taylor said, sitting on the spare seat.

 

"This _isn't_ a double date," Ryan said firmly.

 

Kelsi couldn't seem to get her brain to form words, and she just sat there staring at Taylor. The other woman obviously didn't recognise her, and she almost felt a sense of relief that she wouldn't be subjected to Taylor's withering gaze.

 

Taylor had been the Queen Bee at East High; she was the smartest girl in the school, and she never let anyone forget it. She'd brought prestige to the school by leading the national scholastic decathlon team to victory three years in a row. Taylor had been a bigger star than the whole of East High's Wildcats basketball team and she used that power to her advantage, with the whole school wrapped around her little finger. Everyone, including newcomers like Gabriella, had been _encouraged_ to follow Taylor's lead. Taylor had judged people on their smarts, and for someone like Kelsi who had a steady B grade average, she was considered unworthy of a second glance. It was Gabriella who had helped the scholastic team go on to another win, and after winning the lead for the spring musical with Troy, the two had been inseparable and their popularity rose to heights that not even Taylor had seen. Their popularity threatened Taylor, and she'd started dating Chad soon after.

 

"Of course it is. Chad probably just forgot to mention it," Taylor said, forcing herself to smile at Ryan as she picked up a menu.

 

" _Taylor_? What are you doing here?" Chad asked, staring at her, Ryan's drink in his hand.

 

"I'm here for our double date, silly. You must've forgotten that you invited me," Taylor said, her expression strained and her tone ice cold.

 

"I _didn't_ invite you, Taylor. This isn't a double date!"

 

"Told you so," Ryan said cheerfully, taking his drink from Chad before he dropped it.

 

Taylor shot him a look to make him shut up, but Ryan didn't seem to be affected by her gaze and simply smiled back at her, toasting her before he sipped his drink.

 

"You weren't invited, Taylor, and you're not wanted here. Please, just go," Chad said.

 

Kelsi's vocal cords finally started working again, and she clutched the tablecloth at her lap. "Exactly how did you know Chad would be here if you weren't invited, Taylor?"

 

Taylor straightened up and she coughed slightly. "That's none of your business." She actually looked at Kelsi properly, frowning as if she vaguely recognised her.

 

Kelsi just hoped that she was so far below Queen Taylor's radar at school that she wouldn't recognise her now.

 

"Are you going to leave now, or do I have to get the restaurant's management involved?" Chad asked, taking Taylor's attention away from Kelsi.

 

Taylor made a noise of frustration and stood up abruptly, narrowly avoiding hitting a waiter with the next table's food. She picked up Chad's drink and threw it in his face, leaving the restaurant in a huff.

 

"Okay, that was completely unnecessary. Sorry to tell you, Chad, but your ex is crazy," Ryan muttered.

 

Chad sighed and dried his face with a napkin, brushing the stray ice chips off his wet shirt. The restaurant manager hurried over, the usher from the foyer informing him of the woman who had barged in and assaulted one of their guests.

 

"I am so sorry about this, sir. Can I get something for you to make up for the trouble?" he asked, hoping that this wouldn't turn into a negative review for his restaurant.

 

"No, it's fine," Chad said, trying to dry his body off with his napkin.

 

"Actually, I think he could use a drink to replace the one that was so rudely thrown in his face," Ryan commented before the manager could leave.

 

"Of course," he replied, leaving quickly to get the drink personally.

 

"That wasn't necessary; I could've bought another one," Chad said.

 

"It's not your fault you had your drink thrown at you, so why should you pay for another one? Besides, it'll make the manager feel like he's doing something without having to offer us bribes to keep from going to the press about this. Food critics are out and about this month, and this restaurant is looking to get its fifth star."

 

"Speaking of, how did you manage to get a table here? I thought the waiting list was months long," Kelsi added.

 

"I know one of the chefs. So do you, actually," Chad said, grinning.

 

"You mean... _Zeke_ is a chef here?" Kelsi asked, her eyes wide with delight.

 

"He's the dessert chef. Crème brûlée is his specialty."

 

"Yet any time you come here, you always order the apple pandowdy," a familiar voice said behind Chad.

 

Kelsi was out of her chair in the blink of an eye and hugging Zeke tightly. Ryan was surprised at the amount of affection she was giving to this man when Kelsi had never been much of a hugger before _him_.

 

"Oh, don't look so pouty, Ryan, you'll get wrinkles. Zeke got suspicious about where Chad went when he wasn't playing basketball and found out that I was tutoring him."

 

"He then blackmailed us into being his taste-tester guinea pigs for the rest of the year," Chad said, rolling his eyes.

 

"Some punishment," Ryan said, chuckling.

 

"It was. I put on fifteen pounds after one month," Kelsi said with a pout.

 

"I remember. You told me that you'd rather everyone found out about you tutoring Chad than be tortured with food for another pound," Zeke said, chuckling.

 

The restaurant manager returned with Chad's drink. He looked like he was going to chastise Zeke for being out of the kitchen, but refrained. After ensuring that Chad, Ryan and Kelsi were all right, the manager returned to his former duties. He gave Zeke a quick word about not spending too long socialising before he left.

 

"Oh, I didn't introduce you. Zeke, this is my boyfriend Ryan; he's learning to be a director, actor, and choreographer at Julliard. Ryan, this is Zeke, dessert chef and basketball player extraordinaire."

 

Zeke laughed at that. "Not anymore, Kelsi. Trying to play ball around work's hectic schedule kind of drained any fun out of it. In the end, I had to make a choice," he said, shrugging.

 

"That would've been a tough choice to make," Ryan commented with a brief nod of respect.

 

"Yeah, well some dreams are stronger than others," Zeke said, smiling as he looked back to the kitchen. "I'll be here until the Culinary Institute of America accepts my application... I'd better get back to work before I'm fired."

 

"All right, have a good night, man," Chad said, shaking his hand briefly.

 

"Nice to meet you, Zeke," Ryan said.

 

"You too. Don't you dare hurt Kelsi," he added with a smile borne of someone far too efficient at handling knives, leaving a moment later.

 

"Geez, that was scary. I thought you said Taylor ruined all of your relationships with basically everyone in the world?" Ryan asked Chad with a frown.

 

"She did. If it wasn't for the fact that Zeke cooks all night, sleeps all day, and is rarely seen outside of his apartment anywhere between that time, I'm sure she would've tried to ruin my friendship with him too. He didn't talk to me for a month after the incident with Troy and Gabriella, so I'm really surprised he came over to see me tonight."

 

"He probably saw Taylor throw the drink in your face. Besides, Zeke obviously wanted to talk to me, not you," Kelsi said with a teasing laugh.

 

"Oh, of course. How silly of me to think otherwise," Chad said, grinning.

 

They lapsed into a comfortable silence as their meals arrived and there was a bit of noise as they all swapped their promised items, Kelsi ending up with a plate of salad and Chad with one of chips.

 

"So, is Zeke's crème brûlée really that good?" Ryan asked as he started on his meal.

 

"Sorry to say, but it's even better than yours, Ryan," Kelsi said with a long-suffering sigh and giving Chad a wink.

 

"Well, I _have_ to try it now and find out for myself. Of course, if it is better than mine, I'll be hounding Zeke for the recipe as soon as I can."

 

"Zeke's actually said that he's going to take that recipe to the grave; good luck getting it out of him," Chad murmured.

 

"Oh, you have no idea how persuasive I can be, Mr. Danforth," Ryan said with a slight smirk.

 

The tone of voice that Ryan used was almost husky and suggestive to a fault, and Chad shifted on his seat, trying not to get too affected by the things he was thinking of as a result. Across from him, Kelsi didn't look much better, licking her lips as she looked at Ryan longingly.

 

"We have to come up with some sort of contract that says you can never say those words using that tone of voice _outside_ of the bedroom," Kelsi muttered, just loud enough for Chad and Ryan to hear.

 

"Agreed," Chad said immediately, taking a long drink of water.

 

If Ryan kept up that wide eyed innocent look with that devilish smirk, Chad swore that he was going to jump across the table and ravish Ryan. Screw his drink, screw the meal, screw dessert, and screw the restaurant's four star rating.

 

"What if I say other things in this tone of voice?" Ryan asked, the husky tone still evident and his pleasure at their uncomfortableness increasing.

 

"You're not allowed to. _Ever_ ," Kelsi muttered, trying so very hard not to squirm, or to turn and kiss him like their lives depended on it.

 

"Ever? Well, that's a shame because..." Ryan trailed off abruptly, leaning towards Kelsi.

 

He cupped his hand so that his words wouldn't be heard, but from the expression on Kelsi's face, it had to be something spectacularly filthy. She was even starting to blush, and Chad was sure that her knuckles had turned white from gripping the edge of the table so tightly.

 

"What? Because what?" Chad demanded, his voice a hiss of want, need, and curiosity.

 

Ryan smirked a little again and scooted his chair around carefully. He leaned towards Chad, cupped around his ear, his breath hot against him. Rather than saying anything though, Ryan just flicked his tongue out from between his lips and traced around the curve of Chad's ear, trying not to grin when he heard Chad's breath hitch. Ryan moved his chair back and then continued to eat his meal without a hint of remorse as both Kelsi and Chad sat there with red cheeks.

 

...

 

After their meal had been paid for, they left the restaurant and headed down to the college campus. Kelsi ignored Ryan and took Chad's hand instead, glowering at her boyfriend.

 

"You're in my bad books right now, Mr. Evans."

 

"What shall my punishment be, Mistress?" Ryan asked with a grin, using that same tone that had affected them earlier.

 

"Oh, you'll find out," Kelsi threatened. "Where's your dorm room, Chad?"

 

"In that building over there on the third floor," he replied, indicating to one of the buildings ahead of them.

 

"Can we see?" Kelsi asked, smiling at him brightly.

 

"Yeah, sure. Just ignore the posters on the walls," Chad muttered.

 

Chad was glad that Art wasn't in the room when they arrived, and closed the door behind them, ensuring it was locked.

 

"I see what you meant about the posters," Kelsi said with a grin. "They're not bad bands though; your roommate obviously likes Finnish metal."

 

"You know those bands?" Chad asked in surprise.

 

"Most of them. I haven't heard of this one," Kelsi added, taking a photo of the poster to look the band up later.

 

Ryan sidled up beside Kelsi, pressing a kiss to her neck. She moved out of his grasp, her lips forming a frown.

 

"I said that you're in my bad books, Ryan," she reminded him.

 

"I know. I was trying to get back into your good books," he said with a cheeky grin, moving to kiss her again.

 

Kelsi shook her head and moved away from him completely. She moved towards Chad, and he thought she was going to hide behind him, but she kissed him instead, pressing her body against his. He held her hips gently, his lips moving against hers eagerly.

 

"Oh, now that's just not fair," Ryan complained.

 

They both ignored him. Kelsi hitched her dress up slightly and moved up onto her tiptoes, a leg wrapping around Chad's waist. His hand automatically slid down to hold her up properly. Grinning against his lips, Kelsi jumped and wrapped both of her legs around Chad's waist, her body rising at the new height as she kissed him heatedly. He hurried to hold her up properly, both of his hands sliding beneath her thighs. Another pair of hands joined his and Chad realised that Ryan was holding Kelsi up for him. He let go of her carefully, his hands moving to rest on her hips as they continued to kiss.

 

"That's enough of a punishment now, surely?" Ryan asked, his breath heavy in his chest.

 

Kelsi pulled away from Chad slowly, her lips pressing light kisses against his. "I'll be the one to decide that, Ryan," she murmured, grinning at Chad.

 

He grinned back at her, one of his hands moving to caress her spine. Ryan's tongue flicked against his fingers, and Chad groaned against Kelsi's shoulder, pressing a hot kiss to the curve gently.

 

There was a knock at the door, Art calling out for Chad to let him in. Chad groaned in annoyance against Kelsi, slowly letting her slide down his body onto her feet.

 

"Give me a minute, Art," Chad called.

 

Before he opened the door, Chad kissed Ryan, all of his annoyance and frustration put into that kiss. He pulled away reluctantly, watching as Ryan licked his lips and looked deliciously overwhelmed.

 

"I should get punished like that all the time," Ryan murmured to Kelsi, grinning at her with swollen lips.

 

She grinned back at him and pulled him to sit on the bed beside her, kissing him quickly.

 

When they all looked somewhat presentable, Chad finally opened the door for Art. Art looked suspicious when he stepped into the room, then he saw Ryan and Kelsi sitting on the bed. He decided that they all looked far too innocent. Their innocence was betrayed by the fact that both Chad and Ryan had smears of Kelsi's lipstick on their mouths. Art tried not to laugh at how obvious they were all being, and gathered his things and left to study in the library. On his way out, Art murmured something about a tie on the door knob to Chad. He made some sort of strangled noise in response, but by then Art was already gone. Chad closed and locked the door again, his cheeks red.

 

"Well, that wasn't as embarrassing as it could have been," Kelsi said, grinning.

 

"How could it have been more embarrassing?" Chad asked.

 

"We could have been naked," Kelsi replied.

 

"It could have been your parents," Ryan added.

 

"Or the Dean."

 

"Or my Coach," Chad said, shuddering.

 

"See, it could always be worse," Kelsi said, smiling briefly as she stood up to kiss Chad again.

 

This kiss was sweeter and softer than their earlier one, Kelsi's arms around his neck as Chad locked his hands against the small of her back. Ryan joined them a moment later, and Kelsi didn't stop him as he kissed their cheeks, his tongue flitting against their skin. His hands were soft as they trailed along their arms and sides, Ryan grinning when Kelsi squirmed at a particularly ticklish spot.

 

"Ryan," Chad groaned, drawing his attention and lips to his.

 

Kelsi watched for a moment as they kissed, then moved to take Ryan's earlobe between her lips, knowing how it drove him crazy. He kissed Chad with more fervour, his hand slipping down her torso to caress and tease her breast. Kelsi nibbled on his lobe gently before moving to do the same to Chad. He seemed to like her tongue running along the outside of his ear more than biting on his lobe, Kelsi noted.

 

Chad took hold of Kelsi's hand, his tongue sliding against Ryan's eagerly. Ryan clung to him, grinding his hips against Chad's as he continued to caress Kelsi's breast. It was addicting kissing Chad, his mouth firm and full against his, and making him want more still. Kelsi moved so that she was kissing both of them, Chad and Ryan angling their mouths to kiss her together. Kelsi pulled away suddenly, her chest heaving as she stepped back.

 

"If I don't stop now, I'm just going to drag you both into bed and have my way with you," she admitted, licking her lips at the thought.

 

"We don't mind, do we, Chad?" Ryan asked, grinning.

 

He shook his head quickly. "Don't mind at all."

 

"Well, you should mind. I mind... Besides, your bed's tiny," she muttered.

 

"Why should we mind?" Ryan asked, moving towards her.

 

"Because we have to be back in New York tonight, and I'm pretty sure Chad has an early training session tomorrow morning," Kelsi replied, moving back.

 

"So this is just a very intense make-out session?" Chad asked.

 

"Yes," she said, a little reluctantly.

 

"All right, give me a minute to get everything under control and I'll walk you back to the car," he replied.

 

Ryan groaned in defeat, and in a final desperate act, he kissed Chad heatedly. He responded for a brief moment, pulling away slowly.

 

"Kelsi's right, Ryan. We can't do this tonight," Chad murmured.

 

"When can we then?" he asked frustratedly.

 

"The next time I come up to New York. Sixers are playing again next month, I should be able to save up enough to get a ticket at the back," he added.

 

"I've got court-side tickets for the whole season. You could come up when they play next weekend instead," Ryan offered.

 

"You've got court-side tickets for the whole season?" Chad echoed, his jaw dropping open.

 

 _It had taken him three months just to get two Knicks tickets, how did Ryan have court-side seats for the whole damn season_?!

 

"Ryan's parents are rich; his Dad gives him court-side tickets every year for his birthday," Kelsi informed him.

 

"Every year?" Chad echoed weakly.

 

"Uh-huh, and since Kelsi doesn't like going with me, you can come every week if you want... In more way than one," Ryan added, his hand sliding down to squeeze Chad through his pants gently. "I can even introduce you to the team."

 

Chad groaned, burying his head against Ryan's neck. "Okay, okay. Bribe accepted. I'll be there next week."

 

"Excellent," Ryan said cheerfully, pressing a quick kiss to Chad's exposed neck. "Come on, Kels. Let's get back to New York before Chad convinces me to stay here for the rest of the week."

 

"More like the other way around," she muttered, but moved towards the door nonetheless.

 

Kelsi kissed Chad before they left the apartment, her tongue flicking against his lips softly. It was even more of an incentive to make them stay, and Chad had to bite down on his tongue to refrain from begging. Ryan seemed to sense that he would do exactly that if he kissed him again, so he just slipped out into the hall to breathe deeply instead. Chad wasn't sure if being with these two might kill him, and he didn't know if it bothered him that he didn't really care if it did.

 

...

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taylor gets revenge.

 

Okay, Chad might've skipped his shower that morning and needed to wear a hat since his hair wasn't up to its usual standard, but he really didn't think it was worth all of this fuss. Ever since leaving his dorm room, Chad had noticed people stopping and staring at him. Some had turned to whisper to their friends, while others had just watched as he'd passed by, and there were even a few brave souls who had tried to take his photo with their phones.

 

 _This wasn't some sort of nightmare where he was walking around in his underwear without noticing, was it_?! Chad discreetly pinched his clothed arm and felt a surge of relief when he felt the pain in response. Well, something was obviously wrong, but despite everything that the other students were doing, no one seemed to have enough courage to actually approach him and tell him what it was. He made it to the gym without a word being said to him, and Chad shook his head in confusion when he headed to the change rooms. The entire team was standing there waiting for him, it seemed. Chad stopped short on seeing them all, looking between them with a frown.

 

"What's wrong?" he asked; the scene reminding him forcibly of what they'd done to Troy in sophomore year by making him say that Gabrielle and the play meant nothing to him.

 

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Sven asked, his arms crossed over his chest.

 

"Tell you what sooner?" Chad asked, blinking in surprise.

 

"About _this_ ," Corey said, handing a flyer to him.

 

Chad took it with some trepidation. His jaw fell when he saw the photo of him kissing Kelsi and Ryan. He hadn't been able to resist from kissing them goodbye when they reached their car, Kelsi's hands clutching his shirt as they kissed, and Ryan sliding up beside him, his lips hot against his neck. A private moment had been witnessed and photographed, and then it had been put on flyers all around the campus if the looks from the students - and the stack of papers between the rest of the team - were anything to go by.

 

"I... I..." He was lost for words, and couldn't think of a thing to say, whether to defend himself or deny the whole thing, not even Chad was sure.

 

"Hey, don't worry, Chad; we're not judging you. We just figured that since you hadn't told your teammates yet, you probably didn't want the whole campus knowing," Paul said.

 

"We found as many of the flyers as we could, and Lee thinks he found out who's been giving the flyers out in the first place," Sven said, nodding to Lee.

 

"Sorry, mate. It's your ex-girlfriend, Taylor. She's been giving whole stacks out to people and getting them to spread them throughout the campus," he said apologetically.

 

Chad let out an incredulous laugh, sinking down onto the nearby bench. He should have expected that it would be Taylor. _Who else would have a big enough issue with him to do something like this_?

 

A loud whistle blew and startled them all in to action. The rest of the team hurried out to the court, a few glances given to Chad as they left. There was a bit of noise as their Coach lined them up and realised that Chad wasn't with the rest of the team.

 

"Hey, Danforth. You practising or not?" Coach asked, looking in to the change room with a stern frown.

 

There was something in his Coach's expression that made Chad realise that he had seen the flyers. He wasn't glaring at him, just giving him the same stern look he always did when he ran late for a practice. A small weight felt lifted from his shoulders when he realised that he wouldn't be in trouble - or worse, kicked out - for this.

 

"Yes. Be right there, Coach."

 

"Hurry it up," he replied, turning and leaving without a word.

 

Grinning to himself, Chad pulled his shirt off and changed in record time. By the time he jogged out onto the court five minutes later, the rest of the team were already doing sprints. Chad joined in with them easily, and he knew that for the rest of their training session, nothing but basketball would matter. Whatever happened off of the court stayed there.

 

...

 

"Would you stop doing tiptoeing around like that? I already guessed it from the way you and your boyfriend had your girlfriend's lipstick smeared on your faces last weekend," Art said, rolling his eyes when Chad made his way into their room cautiously.

 

Chad straightened up slightly, frowning. "Oh. I didn't know."

 

"When you're getting kissed within an inch of your life, someone else's lipstick is usually the least of your worries... I don't care either way; it's your life, your relationship, and so long as you leave out the juicy details, I will continue not to care. I didn't want details when it was you and the she-devil, and I don't want them now either."

 

"Uh, okay. Fine by me," Chad said quickly. He wasn't one for kissing and telling anyway.

 

"Good. They didn't move the posters, did they?" Art asked, looking to Chad's side of the room.

 

"No. But Kelsi said that they're good bands. They're Finnish metal, or something?" Chad said with a frown.

 

"The middle one's Scandinavian, actually, but that's close enough considering most people can't even pronounce the bands' names anyway," Art muttered.

 

"That's the one that Kelsi didn't know; she took a photo of the poster to look up later, I think she said."

 

Art made a noise of surprise or disinterest, Chad wasn't quite sure. He wrote something down on a piece of paper, swivelled around in his chair and passed it to Chad.

 

"Tell her to listen to this album first, and to avoid their newer stuff like the plague."

 

"Uh, all right. I'll let her know, thanks," Chad said.

 

He was somewhat glad that Art had written the album name down for him; he never would have been able to spell that on his own. Chad sent a text to Kelsi under Art's watchful eye, also letting her know what Taylor had done. Ryan replied a few minutes later, saying how Mistress Kelsi was threatening all sorts of things ( _plague of locusts, fiery apocalypse, the four horsemen, y'know, the usual stuff_ ) on Taylor, and that they were both glad he was all right. Chad gave a small smile at the screen, then turned his phone off and went to bed.

 

...

 

"I'm surprised to see you outside of the restaurant," Chad commented, grinning at Zeke.

 

"I do get some time off, you know," he replied, shaking his head.

 

"Yeah, and you're usually asleep until your next day's shift."

 

"Well, sometimes I have to see daylight, otherwise I'll get cabin fever. Now, tell me the truth about the profiteroles. Are they any good?"

 

"They're fantastic, Zeke. If I didn't have to answer your questions, I'd be shoving them into my pie-hole when I thought you weren't looking," Chad said with another grin.

 

Zeke chuckled. "Good to know. I managed to get into the second round of applications to the Culinary Institute of America, and I'm planning on dishing those up."

 

"If they're this good, then I bet that they'll accept you after the first bite," he said, sneaking another profiterole off the plate.

 

"Ha, that'd be the day," Zeke said, rolling his eyes. "So, now that you've eaten my food, want to talk about those flyers that were plastered around campus yesterday?"

 

Chad swallowed the last bite of the pastry quickly, trying not to choke on the lump it had suddenly become. "You know about those?"

 

"They're one of the few things I've actually seen on campus since coming here. Taylor sure knows how to advertise."

 

"Yeah, it was definitely something," he said weakly. "So. Uh, what do you think about it?" Chad asked hesitantly, not able to look Zeke in the eye just yet.

 

"I guess I'm surprised - you were always so hooked on Taylor at high school. That being said, it's your decision, your choice, and whoever you sleep with is your own business. What Taylor did was below the belt, and I've reported her for abuse on your behalf."

 

"You... What?" Chad asked, jaw dropping as he looked up at Zeke in shock.

 

"I reported her for abuse against you," Zeke repeated. "What she did could have serious repercussions for you; not everyone's as understanding or open-minded as I am, y'know."

 

Remembering some of the looks he'd gotten yesterday, Chad just nodded in response.

 

"I don't really know what the college will do, but Taylor might get a mark on her record or something. That'd really mess up her goals for the future."

 

"Mmm, because I'm sure American Presidents aren't allowed to be sworn in when they've had a mark on their otherwise-flawless college record," Chad said, scoffing. He saw Zeke's response and winced. "Sorry, man. I didn't mean it like that... Thanks for doing that for me, I appreciate it. I really didn't expect you to do it, or even think of doing it myself."

 

"Yeah, I didn't think you would. It would be a shock, and I figured that you probably had more to worry about with your upcoming basketball game."

 

Chad chuckled. "Coach certainly didn't give me time to think about anything else. You coming to the game then?"

 

"Friday's one of our busiest nights at the restaurant, but I'll try," Zeke promised.

 

"Great. Hey, you mind if I have the last one?" Chad asked, nodding to the plate with the last profiterole.

 

"Go ahead. I brought them for you anyway."

 

"I thought they were for the Culinary thing?"

 

"Yeah, but mostly you. I perfected the recipe two weeks ago," Zeke admitted, grinning. "Hey, take it easy, all right? Taylor's probably going to be royally pissed off if something does come of me reporting her, and who knows what she'll do?"

 

"Then you look after yourself too. Taylor has ways of finding things out, and she might find out that it was you," Chad said worriedly, hesitating on his final bite.

 

"Don't worry, my boss has her picture on record. The front of house staff have been told not to let her in again, or they'll be fired."

 

"He really wants that fifth star, huh?"

 

"Been dying for it since last year," Zeke agreed with a nod. "Anyway, I'd better go if I'm going to sleep at all today. Talk to you again soon, okay?"

 

"Yeah, sure."

 

"Oh, and Chad? Try calling Troy sometime; he might actually let you get past the first sentence before hanging up."

 

"Yeah, right. Thanks Zeke."

 

Zeke gave a nod and left the dorm room, shutting the door behind him firmly. Chad sighed and flopped down on his bed, his churning stomach having nothing to do with the amount of profiteroles he'd eaten.

 

...

 

Kelsi was too busy decimating the Taylor stick figure in her music book to notice the person that sat next to her at lunch. She was in the process of drawing arrows protruding through Taylor's head when the other person spoke, and she barely refrained from wincing.

 

"That person looks very deserving of their quadruple death," Jeremy said, chuckling. "Do I dare ask who it is?"

 

"It's a person that's been harassing my boyfriend, and yes, they are deserving of this and so much more," Kelsi growled.

 

"Jealous and possessive much?" he asked, smirking when she just scowled at him. "Has anyone ever told you how cute you look when you're angry?" Jeremy asked, putting his hand over hers and caressing the back of her palm with his thumb.

 

" _Go away_ , Jeremy. I've told you hundreds of times: I am _not_ interested," she said, pulling her hand out of his grasp sharply.

 

"You heard her, Jeremy," Ryan said, glaring down at him forcefully.

 

"Maybe next time," he said with a unperturbed shrug, sliding off the seat and leaving a second later.

 

"I wish he'd stop that. I'm seriously considering reporting him for sexual harassment."

 

"I've told you from the beginning to do that, Kels," Ryan murmured, sitting across from her. "Is that Taylor?" he asked, noticing her drawing.

 

"Yes. Although, maybe a Jeremy figure should go next to her," Kelsi said, fiercely scribbling a new stick figure.

 

"You're so sadistic," Ryan said fondly, taking up a spare pen and drawing a shapely figure.

 

"Stop drawing naked women on my music pad," she muttered, not glancing up.

 

"Naked woman, singular. Besides, didn't you get extra marks the last time you handed in one of my drawings with your music?"

 

"No, I got sent pamphlets for Julliard's LGBTIQA association."

 

"That's not the worst thing that could have happened," Ryan pointed out, still working on the curvaceous physique.

 

"So exactly who is it that you're drawing there? Because that's not my body," Kelsi said, glancing up with a slight frown.

 

"Maybe not the way you see it," Ryan said certainly, drawing in Kelsi's birthmark and grinning up at her.

 

She grinned back at him briefly, reaching across to take his hand in her own. "So, what did you bring me for lunch?"

 

"Oh, so _now_ I know the real reason you love me," he said dramatically.

 

Kelsi laughed and Ryan smiled at the sound, opening his bag to take their lunch out.

 

...

 

Ryan came home late to hear Kelsi playing the piano. Well, _playing_ was a bit of a stretch. She seemed to be smashing the keys. He set his bag down and hurried upstairs, hoping that Kelsi hadn't hurt her hands again.

 

"What's wrong?" he asked as soon as he reached their room and found Kelsi banging her forehead against the piano's keys.

 

"It all **sucks**. I'm a horrible pianist and everything is _stupid_! Ugh, why did I think I could actually do this for a living?!" Kelsi groaned.

 

"Well, you're not technically making a living from it yet," Ryan said, hoping to make her smile.

 

"Great, that's even better. I'm a failure before I've even begun!" she said, making some sort of screech of frustration and closing the piano lid with a bang.

 

"Don't be that way, Kels. Come on, c'mere," he said, pulling her into a hug.

 

Kelsi was stiff in his embrace, then she burst into tears a few seconds later, sobbing against his shirt. Well, that confirmed his thoughts about what time of the month it was.

 

"You don't suck, you're not a horrible pianist, and what you're doing is _not_ stupid. You're going to be a star, I promise. Now, let's get you into bed and I'll get you a hot water bottle, okay?" Ryan murmured, rubbing her back gently.

 

"'Kay," she mumbled, letting him lead her over to the bed and tuck her in.

 

"I'll be right back."

 

"Ryan?" she called softly when he was at the door. "I'm sorry."

 

"Nothing to be sorry for, Kels," he said with a brief smile, going to the kitchen quickly.

 

Kelsi always got this way around her menstruation period, doubting everything she'd done, was doing, or had yet to do. He'd have to remember to pick some chocolate up in the morning to make her feel better.

 

By the time Ryan returned to the bedroom, Kelsi had dropped off to sleep. He sighed softly and put the hot water bottle close to her stomach, knowing that she'd still need it over the course of the night. With that done, he went downstairs to heat up his dinner to eat alone.

 

...

 

Chad headed to his dorm building after his basketball game on Friday night (winning by a slim 24 to 22 points) and sent Zeke a text to let him know that he'd won. Zeke hadn't been able to get the night off work, but he'd sent a message before the game wishing him well. Chad knew that Zeke probably wouldn't be able to reply until the next day. Opening his dorm room door,  Chad saw that he was alone. According to the note on the back of the door, Art was out with his girlfriend for the night, so Chad would have the whole room to himself for once.

 

Grateful for the time alone, Chad closed and locked the door, pulled his sweat-soaked shirt off and collapsed face-first on his bed. He frowned a few seconds later, feeling something sticking into his ribs. He rolled over, pulled the offending item out from under his body, and rolled back onto his stomach again to look at the thing.

 

It was an envelope, and a pretty expensive one at that, since it didn't seem to be ruined from him accidentally lying on it. His name was written in a fancy scrawl, but he didn't recognise the handwriting. Chad frowned, turning it over to see who it was from. The envelope had a freaking _wax seal_ with a Julliard stamp on it. Sitting up, he opened the envelope carefully to find two tickets to _Breaking Free_ , the play that Kelsi and Ryan were in.

 

The play was already being advertised on TV, despite the first play not being for another three months, and Chad had been curious enough to look at the website. The matinee prices were more than $100 a seat, and he had _two_ tickets for the evening sessions.

 

"What the hell am I going to do with the second ticket?" he muttered to himself.

 

Thinking of Art and Zeke, he wondered if they'd be interested. Chad's phone rang and he frowned, looking at his watch. It wouldn't be Ryan and Kelsi since he'd promised to call them after packing for his weekend, and Zeke definitely wouldn't be calling. Chad pulled his phone out of his bag, hoping like hell that it wasn't Taylor again.

 

"Oh, _shit_ ," he muttered. He forced a smile on his face and answered the phone. "Hi Mum."

 

"Chad Michael Danforth, when were you going to tell me?"

 

"Uhh, tell you what, Mum?" Chad asked, frowning in confusion and trying not to get too worried about her use of his full name.

 

"That you'd finally broken up with Taylor, and are dating these other two people?"

 

"What?" Chad said, his jaw going slack and his brain refusing to form proper sentences.

 

"I had a flyer sent to me from Taylor. She seems to think that I should be concerned that you're in what looks to be a very passionate relationship with two other people."

 

"Uhh..."

 

"Of course, since it's coming from Taylor, I have to assume that she's done this behind your back."

 

"Yeah. Look, I can explain."

 

"I certainly hope so. You never told me that you were gay, let alone bisexual, and I'm surprised that you didn't think to tell me about this relationship sooner, Chad."

 

"It just sort of _happened_. We've only been going out for about two months, Mum. They're up in New York. Kelsi and Ryan are at Julliard..."

 

"Kelsi? You mean _that's_ little Kelsi Nielsen? Well, so it is! Would you look at that. She's certainly grown up, hasn't she?"

 

"Yeah, she has..." Chad said, wondering just what he'd done in life to deserve this conversation; it felt like his own version of hell. He sighed and looked down, grinning slightly when he saw the tickets still in his hand. "Would you like to meet them? I've got two tickets to their newest play, _Breaking Free_. I can book a hotel room for - "

 

"You have tickets to _Breaking Free_?" her mother asked excitedly. "I've been hounding your father for tickets to that play for _weeks_!" 

 

Chad almost snorted at the idea of his _father_ going to a _musical_. Thinking of his father made him sober up quickly. "Uh, Dad doesn't know about this, does he?"

 

"No; you're going to have to deal with him on your own. You know what he'd be like if he found out from anyone other than you."

 

"Yeah, I know," Chad said with a heavy sigh. He wasn't looking forward to that conversation in the slightest. "Well, would you like to come to the play with me? I'm sure Ryan and Kelsi would love to meet you before or after the play."

 

"Oh, that would be lovely, Chad. Then we can talk about your relationship in person," she said, making it obvious that she hadn't been completely sidetracked by talk of the play.

 

"Great," Chad said weakly. He hung up from the call and immediately called Kelsi, knowing that Ryan had another late night at Julliard.

 

"Hey Chad, finished packing already?"

 

"No, haven't even started yet," he admitted.

 

"Oh, okay. Is everything all right?" Kelsi asked, frowning.

 

"Taylor sent one of those flyers to my mum. Mum's kinda pissed I didn't tell her myself, and I invited her to come to the play so she could meet you and Ryan," he said in a rush of breath.

 

"Is that all?" she asked, relieved. "I was actually going to suggest you invite one of your parents, that's why we sent the second ticket."

 

"One, not both of my parents?"

 

"Ryan and I could only get one ticket each for the play, otherwise I would've sent one for each of them," Kelsi said with a grin.

 

"All right then. So, do you know of a good hotel that my mum can stay in? That I can afford?" Chad added hopefully.

 

Kelsi must have been amused because she made some sort of snort on the other end of the line. "Ryan's rich, remember? His family owns at least two of the hotels in New York, and they will definitely be able to put your mum in a nice room for the night. I'll see if Ryan can include a pampering spa treatment for her too, too."

 

"Uh, it's all right, Kelsi. I don't think my mum would want that."

 

Now he knew that she was amused, because she laughed heartily. "Oh, trust me, Chad, your mum will definitely want to be pampered."

 

"If you say so," Chad said, shrugging to himself and thinking that it was some weird female thing that he had no hope of understanding.

 

"I do. Just leave it to me and I'll organise everything, okay?"

 

"All right, thanks Kelsi," he said, feeling a wave of relief wash over him.

 

"No problem. So are you going to start packing now?"

 

"Oh, yeah. Do I need anything in particular?" he asked, glancing to the overfilled chest of drawers and wincing at his prospect of finding anything in there without pulling everything out first.

 

"Jacket, and a couple of nice pants and shirts. Nothing silk, though. It's getting cold."

 

"That won't be a problem," Chad said with a grin.

 

The only silk item he owned was a tie, and that was probably stuffed at the back of one of those drawers.

 

"Well, then get to it. You'd better be here bright and early. Ryan's already started cooking for tomorrow."

 

"What the hell's he cooking?"

 

"I have no idea. But it involves pastry and chocolate, so I am not going to complain one bit," Kelsi said with a laugh. "Now go and pack!"

 

"Yes, Mistress Kelsi."

 

She rolled her eyes and hung up on his laughter.

 

...

 

End of the seventh chapter.

Thanks for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chad and Ryan go on a date

Chad couldn't believe he was actually sitting  _court-side_  for the Sixers game. Ryan kept looking at him and smiling in amusement, but Chad couldn't keep the goofy grin off his face. He could actually  _smell_  the players. (Okay, it wasn't the most  _sane_  thing to notice, but he didn't care.)

 

"I swear, you're so getting laid for this," Chad said, grinning at Ryan.

 

Ryan surprised him by turning away and starting to fiddle with his phone.

 

"What are you doing?" he asked.

 

"I'm going to book court-side tickets for the rest of our lives. And the equivalent in every other sporting event," Ryan replied.

 

Chad laughed, his laughter dying down when Ryan seemed serious. "Uh, seriously?"

 

"How do you feel about the next Olympics?"

 

"Okay, that's... That's kinda scary, Ryan," Chad admitted.

 

"I'm just kidding," he said with a grin. "But I  **will**  get seats behind your favourite baseball team's dugout for a kiss."

 

"That's not exactly a fair trade."

 

"Fine, a kiss on the maxi screen. We'll even get those sappy little love hearts to show up."

 

"Uh, I don't think so. I'd like to leave here without being beaten up."

 

Ryan shrugged nonchalantly, but Chad thought he seemed a little disappointed.

 

"So, you still want to meet the team after the game?" Ryan asked a few moments later, slipping his phone back into his pocket.

 

"Yeah. You can really do that?" Chad asked in surprise.

 

"It's amazing what the team will do for one of the sport's biggest benefactors," he replied with a grin.

 

"Geez. Just how rich are you?"

 

"Think of Batman's inheritance and then double it. That's how much my father owns  _after_  the Global Financial Crisis. My parents reduced my allowance that year, along with my sister. Sharpay threw a fit  _and_  an expensive pair of Jimmy Choo's at our mother's ceramic plate collection," he admitted with a wry grin.

 

Chad was just staring at him. "You lost me after doubling Batman's inheritance."

 

Ryan chuckled. "Well, either way, I'll go get our beer and what they pass off as nachos. Be right back," he said, leaving before Chad could argue.

 

They'd arrived early enough that Ryan was only gone for a few minutes, two red cups and two paper plates of nachos balanced in his hands.

 

"Thanks, Ryan. I'll pay you back."

 

"Hey, I'm the one that dragged you down here for the weekend, the least I can do is buy you food and drinks," he said with a grin. "Now, we've seen each other for at least half an hour and I've yet to hear a compliment on my outfit."

 

Chad almost snorted his beer out of his nose in amusement. "You look great, Ryan."

 

"Thank you. Not so bad yourself, Danforth," Ryan said, somehow managing to look him up and down even though they were sitting down.

 

"Yeah, 'cause jeans and a jersey are the latest in fashion."

 

"Who said you had to wear the latest fashion?" Ryan asked with a laugh. "Trust me, you look good."

 

Chad blushed slightly, not expecting Ryan to sound so genuine. He looked around and when he was sure that they weren't being watched, he quickly kissed Ryan. He noted that Ryan didn't seem overly pleased when he pulled away, but a large group of guys were making their way to the seats behind them, and Chad didn't want to question Ryan in front of strangers.

 

The next hour and a half were spent in an uncomfortable silence, Chad's mind not as focused on the game as it usually would have been. He felt like he was hyper aware of Ryan, and even the small space between them felt like they were on opposite sides of the court. Even when his favourite basketball player stopped in front of them, Chad couldn't seem to muster up as much excitement as he might have at another time.

 

Half-time had most of the stands leaving to get drinks and food, and when the row behind them had mostly dispersed, Chad turned to Ryan. "What's wrong?" he asked.

 

"Nothing."

 

"Bullshit, Ryan. I've spent the last three years with Taylor so I  _know_  when someone's upset. What did I do?" Chad asked, a little nervous that he'd already managed to screw this up.

 

"Nothing. It's all right, I can tell that you're embarrassed about being with me. If Kelsi was sitting here, you'd kiss her without looking around first, wouldn't you?" Ryan asked. He sighed heavily, took his hat off and ran his hand through his hair. "Never mind, it's nothing. I'm just being a diva."

 

"No, you're not. You're right, I probably wouldn't have looked around first if it was Kelsi sitting here," Chad admitted. "But I don't think I'm ready for public displays of affection with a guy just yet."

 

"Yeah, I know. I shouldn't have expected you to jump right in with this. It can be pretty daunting. I remember my first PDA with a guy. I mean, we were both five years old, but it was still pretty nerve-wracking."

 

"You were five?" Chad echoed in surprise.

 

"School production of  _Romeo and Juliet_. Sharpay had chicken pox and couldn't play Juliet, though not for lack of trying, and she refused to let anyone other than an Evans play the part," Ryan said, grinning.

 

"A play doesn't really count, does it? Who was your next PDA?" Chad prompted.

 

"Well, there was a girl in high school, Ana, but I found out that she was using me to try to get closer to Sharpay so I dumped her pretty quick. Steven was after her, but he refused to kiss me in public or acknowledge our relationship. Said he wasn't a faggot," Ryan said with a shrug. "There were a few others here and there, but it seemed that they all just wanted to be seen on my arm or wanted me to buy them fancy gifts, not actually be with me... Then there was Kelsi."

 

"So, basically, you've only had one proper relationship where you weren't treated like shit by your partner?"

 

"Basically," Ryan agreed with a nod.

 

"Well, I guess we've got something in common there," Chad said, sighing. "I'm sorry about before, but I'm still nervous about all of this. I don't know how to act in public with a boyfriend."

 

"Either the same as a girlfriend, or just treat me like one of your friends. I don't mind if we don't do the PDA's for now. I'm not going to force my tongue down your throat or something."

 

"Oh, good. I was worried about that," Chad deadpanned.

 

Ryan just laughed and returned his attention back to the court as the lights dimmed for the half-time show. Chad took his hand in his own and they watched the cheerleaders do their routine. He didn't let go of Ryan's hand even after the lights were turned back on again, and Ryan tried not to let his heart beat too erratically in response, a silly grin on his face.

 

...

 

"Kelsi, we're home!" Ryan called, closing the door behind them.

 

"We found the car this time," Chad added with a laugh.

 

"Be right down," Kelsi called back.

 

She met them in the lounge room, her hair up in a messy ponytail with no less than three pencils stuck in her hair and behind her ears. Kelsi kissed Ryan softly and then drew Chad in for a luxurious kiss, her fingertips tracing along his biceps.

 

"Kels, you know you can't," Ryan murmured regretfully.

 

"I know, but I'm horny as all hell and I've already eaten five of those chocolate pastry things you made and they haven't helped me one bit," she groaned.

 

"What are you two on about?" Chad asked in confusion.

 

"Kelsi is menstruating at the moment, but she's horny," Ryan explained.

 

"Stupid fucking hormones," she muttered.

 

"Oh, so what do you want to do?" Chad asked. "Facial and manicure with a chick flick? Or do you prefer boxing; yoga; meditation? Oh, I give a pretty mean back and foot rub too, if you've got some essential oils," he offered.

 

"What?" Kelsi asked, frowning at him.

 

"Uh, Taylor made me read a bunch of women's magazines, and I used their tips to help relax her every month so she wouldn't use me as a verbal punching bag. Depends on if you're a physical person, or prefer to curl up and bawl."

 

"I want sex, what did the magazines say about that?" she groused.

 

"Not a lot, just to be safe if you were going to," Chad said, shrugging. He saw Kelsi's squicked expression and continued, "But if you don't like the idea of sex when you're menstruating, I've got the perfect alternative."

 

"By that, he means sex with me, and you get to watch," Ryan quipped cheerfully.

 

"Uh, not exactly, sorry. Do you have a foot spa or something similar, and any body oils?"

 

"You heard him, Ryan," Kelsi said, grinning as he left with a dramatic huff of annoyance. "I think I'm going to enjoy this."

 

Chad chuckled and pulled her into a hug. "Hugs are meant to be very good too, but you'll have to let me know."

 

She just sighed and relaxed into his embrace, her arms wrapping around his waist. Ryan finally returned with the foot spa and body oils, and grinned at the sight of them hugging.

 

"So, what are you planning, Danforth? I want in, especially if I get hugged like that," he said.

 

Chad pulled away from Kelsi and grinned over at him. "I think that can be arranged. You're going to have to change into shorts, Kelsi. We'll meet you upstairs when I've got the rest of the things. Just sit and relax in your armchair up there," he instructed, pressing a kiss to her lips.

 

"Fine, but if this doesn't work, then you two agree to be my sex puppets for the rest of the evening," Kelsi said over her shoulder, heading up to the bedroom.

 

"Sex puppets?" Chad asked Ryan with a slight frown.

 

"Basically, Mistress Kelsi comes out to play and tells us  _exactly_  what to do," Ryan said, grinning. "It's actually kind of fun. I'm interested to see what she'll come up with now that there's two of us. Now, you said you needed more things?"

 

"Well, I figured that since Kelsi is horny, we can give her a foot massage. Have you given one before?"

 

"No. She's ticklish and has a tendency to kick out," Ryan said, wincing as he remembered a few of the bruises he'd received from her flailing.

 

"Hopefully she won't with this massage. If you press on certain points on the sole of her foot, you can create feelings similar to an orgasm. Not quite a night full of sex, but I reckon it'll be better than nothing."

 

"Does it work on guys too?" Ryan asked, grinning.

 

"It should," Chad said, grinning as he moved to kiss Ryan lightly. "But Kelsi first. I need towels, warm water, and a moisturiser."

 

"They're all upstairs. I'll get the towels."

 

Chad nodded and took the foot spa and oils from him, following Ryan up the stairs at a slower pace. By the time Chad made it to the second floor, Ryan was already in the bathroom. Kelsi was already sitting, waiting on her armchair, and he was surprised to notice that they'd bought a third armchair just for him.

 

"We were going to take you to buy your own, but Ryan wanted to surprise you," Kelsi said, smiling at the expression on his face.

 

"Thanks," he said, coughing and trying to get rid of the lump in his throat.

 

"Right, so where do you want the towels?" Ryan asked, coming out of the bathroom with an armful of towels of various shapes and sizes.

 

"Uh, I really don't need that many, but thanks, Ryan," Chad said, grinning.

 

"Hey, I'm no foot masseuse," he replied with a shrug, dropping the towels in front of Kelsi's armchair and giving her a light kiss before presenting a hot water bottle to her.

 

"Thank you, Ryan. Now both of you, stop arguing over towels and make me feel better," Kelsi muttered, clutching the hot water bottle to her lower stomach.

 

"Yes, Mistress Kelsi," they chorused.

 

Chad instructed Ryan to spread one of the towels in front of Kelsi's armchair as he went to fill the foot spa with warm water. When it was filled halfway, he hefted the tub out of the sink and carried it back to where Kelsi and Ryan were waiting.

 

"Tell me if it's too hot," he said, placing the tub on the towel in front of her carefully.

 

Kelsi dipped a toe in warily, but let out a small moan of appreciation when she lowered her feet into the warm water.

 

"You just relax there while I tell Ryan how to do this properly," Chad said, kissing her cheek before leading Ryan over to the stage so she couldn't see them.

 

"All right, maestro, how do we do this?" Ryan asked.

 

"Give me your foot and I'll show you."

 

Ryan sat down and presented his foot without protest, watching him curiously. Chad took his foot and began rubbing his ankle gently, his motion becoming firmer as Ryan relaxed and didn't seem inclined to kick him. He slid his hands down to the sole of Ryan's foot, working slowly, his thumbs pressing on certain points. He grinned when he heard Ryan's low moan of appreciation, seeing his cheeks redden as the appreciative emotions changed abruptly with the next motions Chad did.

 

"That spot there is very sensitive," he said, trying not to grin too much.

 

"Oh, screw Kelsi's foot massage, you can keep going," Ryan groaned, falling back onto the stage.

 

"You two are meant to be helping  **me** ; I'm grumpy, horny, and in pain over here, remember?" Kelsi called.

 

"We're coming," Chad called.

 

"Almost literally in my case," Ryan muttered weakly.

 

Chad finished his demonstration, pressing other points on the sole of Ryan's foot until he was sure he remembered where they were by heart. Ryan made a small noise that Chad couldn't quite interpret, and when he sat up, Ryan's cheeks were flushed with desire.

 

"Kelsi first, then I am going to kiss you until you can't think," Ryan promised, pressing a heated kiss to Chad's lips.

 

"Mm-kay," he murmured against his mouth.

 

They made their way back to Kelsi, Ryan kissing her just as heatedly as he had Chad a moment ago. Kelsi pulled away looking dazed, and grinned at both of them.

 

"The foot massage is that good, huh?"

 

"Definitely. We'll do it again when you're not menstruating," Ryan promised with a grin.

 

"Mm-hmm. I think you should actually prove that it's as good as you say," she said, lifting her feet out of the warm water.

 

Chad dropped to his knees and took up one foot, carefully drying it with one of the spare towels. Ryan copied his motion, and Kelsi tried not to laugh or kick out at the ticklish feeling they were causing. Then they both started pressing certain spots on her feet, and  _holy mother of god, that was good_. She squirmed in her chair, her cheeks heating up as they both grinned at her expression.

 

Kelsi closed her eyes, trying to enjoy the slow buildup of heat rather than the ticklish feeling on her feet. She clenched the armrests tightly whenever they moved to the next spot, biting her tongue so she wouldn't accidentally kick Chad or Ryan in the face. The heat and desire was pooling in her stomach, winding tighter, and she squirmed again, desperately wishing that she wasn't menstruating so she could jump both of them. A long low moan escaped her as her orgasm crashed over her like a hot wave, her toes curling against their hands.

 

"Oh, fuck. That was  _good_ ," Kelsi moaned, her lips red from biting them and her breath coming out in short gasps. "I've got to pee," she muttered reluctantly, slowly pulling her feet away to stand. "Might as well give me the tub, or we'll forget about it and someone will step in it in the middle of the night," Kelsi added with a grin.

 

"One time, Kelsi.  _One time_ ," Ryan muttered, but lifted the foot tub up for her to carry.

 

She just grinned and headed to the bathroom to clean up.

 

"I think I'll be given foot massage duties on a regular basis because of this," Ryan said with a chuckle. "Not sure I can blame Kels for it," he added, turning to press a firm and heated kiss to Chad's lips.

 

He grinned against Ryan's lips, flicking his tongue out to taste him. Ryan pushed him back until Chad was lying on the floor, and kept kissing him, his hips rolling up against his over and over until Chad was fairly sure he'd been gifted with some sort of hip rolling talent at birth.

 

 _Fuck me_.

 

" _Fuck me_ ," Kelsi murmured, coming out of the bathroom only to find Ryan straddling Chad, and Chad looking like he was praising Ryan as his god. "You two just keep doing that, I'll be sitting here watching," she quipped with a grin, sinking back onto her armchair.

 

Chad opened his eyes to look back at her, grinning on seeing her lust-filled expression. He had never thought he'd be one for exhibitionism, but Kelsi watching him and Ryan suddenly made Chad feel like he could do anything in front of her, so long as she watched him with a gaze like that. He looked back at Ryan, raising an eyebrow slightly as if to challenge him for more. Ryan's whole face lit up eagerly, his hips doing another fantastic roll against his before he kissed him once more, his fingers squeezing Chad's biceps eagerly. (Chad would have to ask him how to do that rolling thing later; the most he could do was lift his hips frantically in return.)

 

"Too many clothes. You look good, but you'll look even better naked," Ryan murmured against his lips.

 

"So will you," Chad replied with a broad grin, moving to sit up so he could pull his shirt off.

 

He almost jumped when he felt hands ghosting along his shoulder blades, and relaxed when he realised Kelsi had moved her chair forward so she could touch him.

 

"Have you seen your back? You have muscles on your  _back_. I mean, I've seen it on people before, but I've never wanted to touch and lick them like I have you," Kelsi muttered in wonder.

 

"Speaking of licking, you should see his abs. Oh, screw it. Stand up so we can both ogle you for a few minutes," Ryan said, sliding off Chad's waist reluctantly.

 

"What? Seriously?" Chad asked, pausing in his effort to undo his jeans and looking at them in confusion.

 

"Seriously," they chorused.

 

Chad stood up slowly, surprised at their request. He worked out to keep his stamina up for basketball, but he'd never had someone say they wanted to  _lick_  him before. Although, with these two, Chad wasn't entirely sure it was a bad thing. Kelsi was watching him like he was her favourite brand of chocolate, and Ryan was staring at him as if he'd just seen heaven itself.

 

"All right, you're both freaking me out now," Chad muttered, dropping to his knees again, his cheeks flushed. He kissed Kelsi hard, then returned to his previous task of kissing Ryan.

 

Ryan managed to get Chad's stubborn jeans off in a matter of seconds, his hands sliding down along Chad's legs and making him shiver.

 

"Ooh, I almost forgot! How did the after game thing go? Ryan took you to meet the players, right?" Kelsi prompted.

 

"I am  _trying_  to get laid here, Kels," Ryan groaned, head buried in the crook of Chad's neck.

 

"Mm-hmm. Later. Chad?"

 

"It was great; they autographed a towel for me."

 

"A towel?"

 

"Well, it was either that or a pair of shorts, and their shorts were all in the laundry hamper," Chad explained, his hands clutching at Ryan's shoulders as Ryan nipped and sucked a mark onto his neck.

 

"So, what, one of the players just ripped off their towel to sign it for you?" Kelsi asked, frowning.

 

"There were -  _fuck_  - spare towels," Chad breathed, Ryan's hands sliding down his body to press against his hips, his slim and deft fingers splayed across his skin.

 

"Hmm, that's a shame. Ryan, step back."

 

"What? No," Chad groaned.

 

Ryan grinned impishly as he stepped away from Chad entirely.

 

"Stop looking so smug and take off your clothes; poor Chad's naked and you're still dressed," Kelsi pointed out.

 

"Yes, Mistress Kelsi."

 

Kelsi tugged Chad back to their seats, and they both watched as Ryan shimmied and stripped out of his clothes, humming a strip tease. Kelsi stroked Chad's thigh as they watched, her fingers nearing his aching dick, but never actually touching. The combination of Kelsi's touch and Ryan's body being bared before him made Chad shift on the chair uncomfortably, desperate to grab his own dick before he embarrassed himself.

 

"Relax, Chad. I don't tease for long. Well, I won't tonight," Kelsi promised, pressing a kiss just below his ear. "Do you want Ryan to give you a blowjob or do you want a hand job from me?"

 

"Uh..." his mind stuttered to a halt at the images and very idea that he could have either.

 

"You can ask for both," Ryan added with a grin.

 

"Whatever you want, you can always ask for it," Kelsi amended, realising that Chad probably hadn't asked for anything he wanted for a very long time.

 

"I want... Could I - " Chad faltered for a moment, looking between them quickly. "Can I make out with Kelsi while Ryan goes down on me?"

 

"Sounds perfect to me," Ryan said, immediately dropping to his knees. He crawled over to the coffee table between the chairs, pulled out a drawer that Chad hadn't noticed before, and found a condom and lube.

 

Kelsi moved to sit on the chair's armrest, and she grinned at Chad. "How do you want me?"

 

" _Jesus Christ!_ " Chad groaned, looking down to Ryan, who had already rolled the condom on Chad's cock and was sucking the tip firmly.

 

"Actually, that's Ryan," Kelsi teased, grinning.

 

Ryan pulled away from Chad and glared up at Kelsi. "That was awful."

 

She just laughed. "You still love me. Now, concentrate and give Chad the best blowjob of his life."

 

"Yes, Mistress Kelsi," Ryan quipped, returning to the task with renewed vigour.

 

"Holy fuck,  _fuck_ ," Chad groaned, his hips arching off the chair completely.

 

His movement almost knocked Kelsi off the armrest, so she slipped down into his lap carefully, making sure she wouldn't hit Ryan. She grinned and winked at Chad. "Still want to make out?"

 

Chad responded by cupping the back of her head and pulling her in close, kissing her, tongue flicking at her lips and parting them easily. Kelsi bit at his tongue, licking and caressing his tongue with her own. Chad stroked her sides as they continued to make out, a little wet and messy, and so unlike the kisses he'd experienced before, always neat and perfect. He gasped into Kelsi's mouth as Ryan hummed around his dick, his deft fingers teasing at his balls. Kelsi smiled against his mouth, swallowing his noises and pulled away to kiss and bite at his jawline.

 

"Shit. I've gotta... Fuck," Chad groaned, tilting his head back.

 

Kelsi immediately started to kiss and suck on his throat, her hands running down his shoulders and biceps and across his chest to tease and flick at his nipples. It was too much,  _they_  were too much, he hadn't ever realised he could feel this much before. Kelsi's mouth and fingers and Ryan's mouth and fingers and his whole body feeling like it was tingling everywhere they touched and kissed him. Ryan moved one of his hands to grip the base of Chad's dick, the other hand stroking along his thigh, and it was the latter motion that did him in rather than the first. He orgasmed with a cry strangled in his throat, his chest heaving as he slowly came back down. Chad tried not to feel too embarrassed that he'd orgasmed because Ryan had  _touched_   _his leg_.

 

"You were so good, Chad. I need another heat pack and some chocolate, so you and Ryan can make out on the bed while I'm doing that. I'll get rid of the condom for you," Kelsi said, pressing a few light kisses to his mouth and cheeks.

 

Chad blinked in surprise; he had never been called  _good_  before.

 

Ryan stood up without a word, his dick hard and leaking against his stomach, but he barely seemed to notice it. Instead, he winked and grinned down at Chad and offered him his hand. Still a little dazed from both his orgasm and Kelsi's compliment, Chad took Ryan's hand and let him lead him to the bed. Granted, it was only a few steps, but he felt like he needed the support anyway. He was vaguely aware of Kelsi heading downstairs, and rested his head on the pillow to look at Ryan.

 

"Okay, Chad?" he asked, sounding worried.

 

Chad made some sort of nodding motion in return. Ryan pressed a kiss to his mouth, and then started to smooth out lines on Chad's face. His fingers were light and firm against his skin, and still smelling musky like Chad's dick, but he found that he didn't really mind. Chad let out a content sigh and dozed lightly while they were waiting for Kelsi to return.

 

"Aw, you're not making out. That looks nice though. Enjoying yourselves?" Kelsi asked, pressing a kiss to Ryan's shoulder and another to Chad's forehead.

 

"Mmm."

 

"Good. Now shove over so I can try to get to sleep. If the cramps get any worse, I'll be pissed."

 

Ryan scooted a little closer to Chad so Kelsi could lie down behind him as she usually did. He had to stop stroking Chad's face which was a shame, but they were pressed up against each other, so he figured that made up for it.

 

"You were both amazing," Kelsi said, yawning widely and putting her arm around both of their bodies, albeit awkwardly but still managing nonetheless. "G'night."

 

"Good night," Ryan replied, sleepy and sated.

 

"Night," Chad murmured, falling asleep a few moments later.

 

...

 

End of the eighth chapter.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chad ruins the evening.

Chad let out a yell of victory as the ball swished straight into the hoop, the buzzer sounding half a second later. He'd scored the winning goal for their team, and while it wasn't the biggest game of the season, he still felt pretty damn pleased with himself.

 

"Nice work, Danforth. Drinks tonight?" one of his teammates asked as they all headed towards the change room.

 

"Not tonight; I've got a date."

 

"Cool, have fun. Hey, Goldman, you're buying the first round!"

 

Chad slipped a hoodie over his jersey, not bothering to change or shower. Ryan had text earlier in the day telling him Kelsi's idea for the evening and he'd had to recite all of his known basketball statistics _twice_ just to get his dick to behave. Grabbing his bag from his locker, Chad called out a farewell over his shoulder - a few of the guys gave the usual wolf-whistles, but most were preoccupied with their own plans for the night - and headed out to his car.

 

Scrolling up through his phone to Ryan's earlier text, he found the address Ryan had sent him, then set the GPS on his phone and started to follow the directions to the hotel.

 

...

 

The hotel was a midway point between their respective homes (or as close as possible), and as it was part of a chain that the Evans' owned, Ryan was able to get a _very_ nice suite without any trouble. Chad kind of wished he'd changed after all because walking into the foyer of the hotel wearing a hoodie and jeans made him feel like he was severely under-dressed. He'd had no idea that a place like this even existed in such a short distance from his dorm.

 

"Ah, here you are Mr. Danforth. Room 821. Enjoy your visit," the concierge said with a pleasant smile, handing over the keycard for the room.

 

"Thanks," he replied, hefting his duffel bag up onto his shoulder and heading over to the elevators.

 

This night was going to be his last date with Kelsi and Ryan before their play, which meant his mother would be attending _Breaking Free_ with him in three weeks' time and Chad had no desire to have sex with his boyfriend and girlfriend while his mother was in the same _state_ as them, let alone after spending a good two and a half hours with her at the theatre. The very idea just felt a bit weird to him. He doubted that Kelsi or Ryan would mind - not all of their dates had involved sex, after all - but Chad still wanted to make this date a good one anyway.

 

Not sure how the protocol went with these sorts of things, Chad knocked on the door before he opened it with the keycard. The light on the door turned green and he turned the handle, walking in.

 

"Hey, Chad. Good game?" Kelsi asked, smiling out at him from the bathroom.

 

"Yeah, not bad. Why're you showering?" he asked, knowing that Kelsi usually liked to shower in the morning; showering at night made her hair frizzy, if he remembered correctly.

 

"Had a shitty day and just needed to ease some of the tension. Ryan's gone to get dinner."

 

"What about room service?"

 

"He hates ordering items that aren't on the menu, so he's gone out to get food instead. I'll be out in a sec."

 

Ryan dropped his bag by the table and sat on the edge of the bed, taking his shoes and socks off as he waited for Kelsi to return. He fisted his toes into the carpet, easing the ache after running up and down the court for a good two hours. Kelsi came out of the bathroom a moment later, drying her hair with a towel.

 

"Feeling better now," she said, grinning.

 

"That's good," Chad said, tugging her between his legs and kissing her lips. "Want to talk about it?"

 

"Oh, it's not huge or something; I finally reported Jeremy for harassment today. I'm not the only one he's been harassing and I just wanted it to stop for all of us," Kelsi said, shaking her head.

 

"Mm, good for you. You're braver than I am," Chad murmured.

 

"Doesn't mean I'm brave; I'm just tired. C'mon, let's cuddle until Ryan gets back," Kelsi said, tugging Chad until he was lying down on the bed with her.

 

"I'm all sweaty from the game," he protested.

 

"Don't care. I'll probably have to shower again in the morning when my hair goes stupid. Feel free to get me sweaty," Kelsi replied, grinning.

 

Chad grinned back at her and cuddled Kelsi in close. "Gladly," he said, kissing her firmly and moving them until his body covered hers entirely.

 

The door opened and Chad froze for a moment before he was drawn back to Kelsi's mouth.

 

"You're not starting without me, I hope?" Ryan asked, his hand resting on Chad's shoulder.

 

"Yes, we definitely are," Kelsi quipped, grinning.

 

"Hmm, food or sex?" Ryan murmured, setting the bags on the small table.

 

The smell drifted towards the bed and Kelsi's stomach growled, Chad's echoing it a moment later. "Food?" Chad asked her, grinning.

 

"Food," Kelsi agreed, kissing him once more before patting his chest to get him to move.

 

They joined Ryan at the table, Chad kissing him briefly so he wouldn't distract Ryan serving up the food. Kelsi waited until Ryan was finished before sitting on his lap, kissing him at a more luxurious pace. Chad watched them for a long moment, loving the way they looked together, how they knew every way to make the other breathless and desperate.

 

"I wasn't gone that long," Ryan teased, grinning at Kelsi.

 

"Mm, I know, but I wanted to tease Chad so I could steal his fries," Kelsi replied, reaching over to grab a few fries from his plate.

 

"You have your own fries, Kels," Ryan said.

 

"They taste better off someone else's plate," she replied, winking at Chad. "Hmm, maybe we should've left the food 'til later; Chad looks ready to eat you up," Kelsi said, kissing the tip of Ryan's nose.

 

Ryan blinked and looked over to Chad so he could assess his expression for himself. "I think that look's for you, Kels," he argued.

 

"Both. It's for both of you," Chad said quickly, his cheeks darkening. "Will, uh, will the food be okay later?"

 

Kelsi smiled broadly. "Wouldn't be the first time I've eaten cold fries."

 

"Personally, I think it's a culinary travesty, but I'll let it slide this time," Ryan said, licking his lips and winking at Chad.

 

Kelsi stood up, pulled Ryan up along with her, and grabbed Chad's hand to lead them both to the bed. "More sex, less talking."

 

"Yes, Mistress Kelsi," they chorused.

 

"I hate you both," she groaned.

 

Ryan smirked. "Highly unlikely, Ms. Nielsen."

 

She huffed a sigh of feigned annoyance. "Fine, I don't. I'd be less annoyed if we were all wearing less," Kelsi muttered.

 

In less than two seconds, Ryan was naked. Chad blinked in surprise. "What the hell? Did you turn into a superhero while I was gone? _No one_ gets undressed that fast."

 

"They do in theatre, darling. How do you think we change outfits between scenes?" Ryan asked with a grin, tugging Chad close and undressing him as well, albeit at a slower pace.

 

Chad was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Ryan had called him _darling_ of all things, and barely noticed that he was being undressed quickly and efficiently by nimble, long fingers. Then Ryan pressed a kiss to his exposed clavicle, another along his collarbone, those same nimble and long fingers trailing down his sides, and Chad finally seemed to realise that he was naked.

 

Kelsi looked amused, watching them from her position on the bed, goosebumps covering her bare arms and legs, her nipples pebbled in the cool air. "Feel free to join me anytime. Preferably now," she said, crossing her arms.

 

"In a moment, dearest," Ryan replied, his words muffled against Chad's skin.

 

"I said _now_."

 

Chad froze immediately, his heart thundering in his chest, his hands curling into tight fists, and his breath practically stopping.

 

He knew realistically that it hadn't been Taylor's voice, that she wasn't even in the state, let alone the room, but with that sharp tone and the familiar words, it felt as though Taylor was right there, her hands firm on his wrists and arms. She'd been impatient and Chad had always been _too slow_ for her, no matter how fast he moved.

 

Chad knew that it wasn't Taylor's voice, Taylor's sharp command, that it _couldn't_ be her, yet his brain responded to the tone and words and he felt like he'd been frozen right there on the spot, his body breaking out in a cold sweat and terrified goosebumps.

 

Ryan, who had still been kissing and caressing him at Kelsi's playful words, heard the short gasp and noticed the tension beneath his lips and fingers. He pulled back to look at Chad, frowning in concern. "Are you all right, darling?"

 

Chad tried to nod, tried to smile, tried to be reassuring and just _get over himself_ , but Ryan obviously didn't believe him because he stepped back completely.

 

"No, you're not, Chad. I know that expression far too well after living with Sharpay's temper tantrums for most of my life. Was it something I did?" Ryan asked, his expression gentle. He looked as though he wanted to reach out, to touch Chad, but he held himself back instead.

 

On the bed, Kelsi dropped her arms from her chest and clambered off the mattress to stand beside Ryan, her eyes wide and worried. "Shit. It wasn't you, it was me," she realised, stepping forward hesitantly, as though Chad was a frightened animal and going to run as soon as she was close enough. "Taylor said those words to you, didn't she? Or something close enough?" Kelsi prompted gently, though Chad knew that if he didn't want to say anything, that if he wanted to leave right then and there, neither Kelsi nor Ryan would stop him.

 

 _Hell, they'd probably drive him home if he wanted_.

 

"I... Taylor wasn't... patient with me. Or anyone, really," Chad added, his hand rubbing a phantom bruise on his bicep, the long-gone imprint of sharp nails embedded in his skin.

 

"I'm sorry, Chad. I didn't realise," Kelsi said. "I'll have to be more patient," she said with a quick smile.

 

"I didn't think... It shouldn't bother me, I _know_ she's not here. Sorry for ruining the night," Chad said, looking at his feet and feeling like complete and utter shit.

 

Behind Kelsi, Ryan moved around to grab something from the other side of the bed, returning with what had to be the world's fluffiest bathrobe. Like Kelsi, Ryan moved towards Chad slowly and carefully, and then he wrapped the bathrobe around Chad's shoulders, tying it off at his waist.

 

Chad looked up when Ryan had finished, trying to gauge the emotion in Ryan's eyes; _was it pity or annoyance? Surely he couldn't_ ** _truly_** _feel something other than that right now, could he? Could either of them?_

 

"You haven't ruined a thing, Chad. Now, we're going to watch whatever mindless show is on TV, eat dinner, and cuddle on the bed - if you feel up to that, of course," Ryan said, his words firm and genuine, as if he actually knew what Chad was feeling like.

 

Chad looked from Ryan to Kelsi, seeing her smile encouragingly.

 

"Come on, darling. Let us spoil you," Ryan said, smiling gently and holding a hand out for Chad.

 

Feeling a little better about ruining their entire weekend, Chad reluctantly took hold of Ryan's hand, letting him lead him over to the bed and settle him down on the mattress. Ryan pressed a kiss to the back of his palm, then another lightly to his lips, and brought over the plate of food he'd dished up earlier. It was cooling, and the fries were barely warm, but it was more edible than some of the things Chad had eaten over the years.

 

Kelsi and Ryan were soon wearing their own bathrobes, sitting on the bed with Chad in an uneven triangle, both of them touching him as often as they possibly could. Kelsi stole more fries from his plate, her knuckles dragging along his thigh gently. Ryan reached over to put his empty plate on the floor, his hand curled around Chad's ankle. Kelsi grabbed the TV remote from the side table, touching Chad's bicep to steady herself. Ryan practically threw himself between Kelsi and Chad, squirming around until he was settled comfortably, resting his hand on Chad's thigh. As Ryan had said, they watched mindless TV shows, heckling people on game shows, calling out the answers loudly, and then watched the mystery shows and tried to guess who had done what.

 

During an ad, Chad grabbed the remote to mute the TV. He couldn't bring himself to look at either of them just yet, so he looked at his lap instead. "I really am sorry for ruining everything."

 

Ryan protested around a mouth full of water, and beside him, Kelsi shook her head. "We're perfectly happy with or without sex, Chad. We like spending time with _you_ , and like Ryan said earlier: nothing's been ruined," Kelsi said vehemently. Her fierce expression faded abruptly. "Sorry for triggering you like that."

 

Chad shrugged. "You didn't know."

 

"Well, now I do, so I'll make sure not to do it again," Kelsi promised, leaning over Ryan to press a kiss to Chad's cheek. Ryan kissed his cheek as well, taking Chad's hand in his own and squeezing gently.

 

The TV volume was turned back on and Chad felt something loosen in his chest; _they weren't upset or angry with him, they were happy just spending time with him_.

 

During the next ad, Kelsi claimed she was cold on her left side and climbed over both Ryan and Chad so she was pressed up against Chad, cuddling up against his chest and her hand resting over his heart. Ryan copied her position a moment later, so they were both curled up on either side of him, Chad's arms wrapped around them loosely, their hands resting on his pecs.

 

They finished watching the TV program, Ryan crowing his victory at solving the mystery, Kelsi muttering under her breath. They all eventually settled down to sleep, both Kelsi and Ryan curled up around Chad warmly, calming him further.

 

Sure that he'd be awake for hours, stuck replaying the night over and over in his mind, Chad was almost surprised when he fell asleep less than half an hour later, cocooned safe and warm between Kelsi and Ryan.

 

...

 

End of the ninth chapter.


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